Crashes kill woman, critically injure teen
Cops check for drug tie in boy's accident
While a 13-year-old boy clung to life yesterday from injuries he suffered in a one-car accident, an elderly woman was killed in a two-car crash.
The boy, whose name wasn't released, was in extremely critical condition at the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania with severe head injuries, police said.
The teen had been in a 1995 Lincoln Continental traveling west on Haverford Avenue when the car went out of control and hit a tree near 48th Street in West Philadelphia at 10:20 p.m. Thursday night, said Officer Gary Harrison of the Accident Investigation Division.
A 21-year-old man told investigators he had been driving the car, but police haven't verified that, Harrison said. That man wasn't seriously injured, but the car was severely damaged on the driver's side, Harrison added. Both occupants were out of the car when police arrived.
Investigators also are probing whether drugs played a role in the wreck, Harrison said. No charges have been filed.
Meanwhile, an 83-year-old woman was killed almost instantly yesterday afternoon, when her car hit another vehicle before careening into a pole in Olney.
The accident occurred on Rising Sun Avenue near Olney Avenue shortly after 3 p.m., said police spokeswoman Officer Beth Skala. The unidentified woman was pronounced dead at the scene by medics. No other injuries were reported in the crash. *
Staff writer David Gambacorta contributed to this report.