Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

Cherry Hill grandmother pushing stroller is killed by SEPTA bus in Center City; baby unhurt

Police on Tuesday identified a 64-year-old woman who was pushing a baby stroller when she was fatally struck by a SEPTA bus in Center City as Lidia Procaccino of Cherry Hill.

Police on Tuesday identified a 64-year-old woman who was pushing a baby stroller when she was fatally struck by a SEPTA bus in Center City as Lidia Procaccino of Cherry Hill.

The accident happened just after 5 p.m. Monday as Procaccino was crossing Chestnut Street at 23rd Street. She was hit and dragged a short distance by a Route 9 bus, police said.

The baby, a 9-month-old boy, was not hurt but was taken as a precaution to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was listed in stable condition, police said.

The police Accident Investigation District said Tuesday that Procaccino was the baby's grandmother.

The bus was southbound on 23rd and turning left onto Chestnut when it struck Procaccino, who was walking south on 23rd in the crosswalk, police said. She and the bus both had a green light.

The bus driver didn't see her, police said. Procaccino, of Strathmore Drive, suffered severe internal injuries, and medics pronounced her dead at the scene shortly afterward.

The bus, driven by a 32-year-old woman, had three passengers. No one on the bus was injured.

The driver, a SEPTA employee for a few years, will not operate a bus during the investigation, said Fran Kelly, SEPTA's assistant general manager for public and government affairs.

Kelly said that the bus was equipped with five surveillance cameras on the front, sides, and interior, and that the footage is part of the investigation. The Accident Investigation District is in charge of the case, but SEPTA and its police force are cooperating, Kelly said.

No one answered the door at Procaccino's home Tuesday.

Myrna Escareal, 70, who lives next door, said she had seen Procaccino on Sunday and they waved to each other outside.

"Oh, my God," Escareal said. "Life is so short."

Escareal said Procaccino had a husband and at least one grown child.

Kelly said he reached out to Procaccino's family to express SEPTA's condolences.

"They're devastated, as you can probably imagine," he said.

@julieshawphilly

Staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article.