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No bail for suspects in N. Phila. carjacking, crash that killed 3

The two men charged in a North Philadelphia carjacking and crash that left three children dead will remain in jail without bail.

Jonathan Rosa, 19, and Cornelius Crawford, 24, were arraigned overnight. Both men were denied bail.

Charges that include murder, sexual assault, robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy and other offenses were filed against the pair on Monday.

Prosecutors allege that they carjacked a Toyota 4Runner on Friday morning, then rammed the SUV into a family fruit stand at Allegheny and Germantown avenues when they lost control of the vehicle.

The crash killed 15-year-old Keiearra Williams, 10-year-old Thomas Joseph Reed, and 7-year-old Terrence Williams. Keisha Williams, their mother, was critically injured.

Another woman who had been selling fruit with the family, 69-year-old Thelma Brown, was also hurt, as was the 45-year-old carjacking victim.

Preliminary hearings for the two suspects have been scheduled for Aug. 13.

They were taken into custody Sunday night. Rosa, accompanied by his mother and pastor, surrendered. Crawford was arrested about a half-mile from the crash scene.

The tragic events began when Rosa and Crawford approached a female real-estate agent after she finished a meeting on North Sixth Street on Friday morning, implied they were carrying a weapon, and forced her into the 4Runner, police said.

Police said they then drove north at a high speed. About a mile later, the vehicle veered out of control, jumping the curb and crashing into the victims and their fruit stand, which was raising money to help build a playground.

At a Monday news conference announcing the arrests, police officials thanked the public for tips that came in after the accident and said witnesses gave descriptions of the suspects and identified the two once they were apprehended.