The victims were passengers of an SUV that contained five other family members when it flipped over near a local exit of I-95. The drivers of the two other cars also were injured.
A three-car accident Saturday on a local stretch of Interstate 95 claimed the life of a Delaware woman and her 4-year-old daughter.
Several family members inside the vehicle, including a pregnant woman, also were injured in the collision that shut down the southbound lane near the Front Street exit for more than two hours, police said.
Danelyn Salgado, 23, of Wardor Avenue in New Castle, Del., and her daughter Thais Mena were ejected from a 1995 Chevy Blazer driven by the child’s father, Edgar Mena, said Sgt. George Golden of the Accident Investigation Division.
Salgado was pronounced dead at Hahnemann University Hospital after the 6:40 p.m. wreck; the 4-year-old was pronounced at the scene, Golden said.
Mena, 24, was unharmed. His 6-year-old son, Edgar, was taken to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was treated for minor injuries and released, said the sergeant.
Salgado’s 19-year-old sister, Myra, who is eight-months pregnant, was flown to Hahnemann University Hospital, where she was admitted in stable condition. Her 5-year-old daughter, Yaribel, was taken to CHOP and treated for minor injuries and released. Eriberto Colon, Salgado’s partner, also was taken to Hahnemann for minor injuries and released.
The deadly chain reaction of events started when the Blazer collided with a 1996 Saturn driven by J. Daubert, of the 500 block of Hereford Lane in Mickleton, N.J., Golden said. Mena was traveling southbound in the right-hand lane when he tried to merge into the middle lane in which the Saturn was traveling, said the sergeant.
In an effort to avert a collision, Daubert passed the Blazer but lost control of his car and wound up in its path instead, Golden said.
At the point of contact, both vehicles locked and rolled into the median, but the Blazer continued on its path of destruction, flying across the shoulder of the highway before landing on the Front Street on-ramp, said Golden.
According to the accident report, the Blazer flipped over seven times before colliding with a 2000 Kia entering the on-ramp.
Daubert and the driver of the Kia, Sandra Perry, 39, of Harvard Avenue in Collingswood, N.J., sustained minor injuries, the sergeant said.
Salgado and her daughter were not wearing seatbelts, according to reports.
"The thing people don’t realize is if a car is traveling at 60 mph, you as an occupant are also ejected at 60 mph," said Golden. "That is the importance of seatbelts. Seatbelts increase your odds and chances of surviving an accident, whereas if you are thrown onto the highway you hardly have any chance."
Mena, the driver of the Blazer was wearing a seatbelt, the sergeant added.
An investigation is ongoing, but as of Tuesday, Golden said there were no indications of substance abuse. "It appears to be human error. Sometimes these things just happen," he said.
Woman found dead at home
Homicide detectives earlier this week were still trying to determine the identity and cause of death for a 54-year-old woman found lifeless in her home Dec. 12.
Police discovered the victim on the living-room floor of her home on the 900 block of South 24th Street at 7:15 a.m., said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detective Division. She had sustained multiple injuries to her face, legs and arms, and her home had been ransacked, Biello added.
The victim shared the home with an elderly gentleman, said Capt. Thomas Lippo of the Homicide Unit.
Detectives were unable to identify the woman through her fingerprints and are seeking the aid of state police, Lippo said. The Medical Examiner is performing an autopsy to determine the cause of death, he added.
House raided after e-mail threats
Police arrested a 39-year-old man after he allegedly admitted to sending anthrax threats to public officials last week via e-mail. The District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case to decide whether or not to file charges.
Gary Royster, of the 2100 block of Carpenter Street, allegedly told police he sent the e-mails Friday to the mayor’s office and the inspector general of Philadelphia because he was mad at his girlfriend, who is a city police officer.
According to investigators, Royster sent the messages from the Free Library of Philadelphia branch at 1504 Locust St. to make it appear as if the officer had written them. Contained in the e-mails were threats to use explosives and release anthrax at an undisclosed location before Christmas, officials said.
Police dispatched SWAT teams in protective clothing Friday morning to search the Carpenter Street house. The fire department also was on location to assist police, said Executive Fire Chief William Brightcliffe.
Cops gear returned
Acting on a confidential phone tip Friday, members of the South Detective Division Special Investigation Unit recovered all of the items stolen from Lt. Michael Chitwood’s car three days earlier.
Chitwood, a South Philly resident, is assigned to Southwest Detective Division and has been associated with the Allen Iverson police controversy.
The tipster called Friday around 12:30 p.m. and said a gym bag containing the stolen items would be dropped off at 28th and Mifflin streets, according to a police source.
Everything was returned to Chitwood except some cash, said Officer Maria Ibrahim of the Police Public Affairs unit.
An investigation is ongoing. As of Tuesday, no arrest had been made.
According to police, the lieutenant parked his 2002 Chevy Cavalier on the street near FDR Park at Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, then went for a run. He returned to find his badge, gun, wallet, cell phone, clothes and Frank Sinatra CDs stolen.
The theft happened the same day the Philadelphia Daily News ran a front-page story about a former West Philly hotel security guard who allegedly overheard Chitwood making light of Iverson’s legal troubles during his assault investigation last summer. The guard said he overheard the lieutenant and other detectives at the hotel bar toast Iverson’s "next felony" and that the 76ers star was "going down."
A 15-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, Chitwood was the lead investigator on the Iverson case. He has denied the allegations.
Mummers march to the rescue
A woman who fell into the Delaware River around 12:15 p.m. Sunday has a group of Mummers to thank for her rescue.
By the time police and fire personnel arrived, the 37-year-old woman already had been pulled to safety, said Executive Fire Chief William Brightcliffe. Rescue workers then brought her to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, from where she was discharged Tuesday, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Police did not know how the woman ended up in the river near the SS United States, nor could they confirm her identity at press time. Some eyewitness reports state the woman was pushed, while others said she jumped.
Luckily for her, ’tis the season for Mummer rehearsals. Members of the Satin Slipper fancy brigade were working on their float and practicing their New Year’s Day routine inside Pier 80, at Columbus Boulevard and Mifflin Street, when they spotted the victim floating close by, said member Rick Conway. Former brigade captain and founder John Riecky threw a life ring to the woman. Riecky, a member of the Mummers Hall of Fame, works as a longshoreman and oversees ship-equipment unloading at the pier.
With the help of fellow Mummers John Otto and Bob Dailey, Riecky hoisted the woman out of the water, said Conway, who also happens to be a sergeant with the 12th District in Southwest Philly.
"These guys were actually over the seawall down at the waterline fishing this lady out," he said.
Meanwhile, Conway was standing ashore with a ladder to help hoist the woman to safety.
The sergeant said the victim was mumbling and incoherent after her rescue.
More charges for Rinick
By all accounts, Billy Rinick doesn’t need more trouble with the law. But that’s evidently what might be in store for the 30-year-old local man.
A federal judge ruled Friday that the government could introduce evidence at Rinick’s Jan. 6 drug-trafficking trial that he allegedly threatened to kill a cooperating government witness, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Officials said the reputed mobster-wannabe used fear, intimidation and murder threats against Sam Pollino of Pennsauken, N.J., when he came to suspect that Pollino was cooperating with the government.
Pollino had dozens of meetings with Rinick in which drugs and cash were exchanged, according to authorities.
At Rinick’s upcoming trial, the prosecution will introduce more than 60 audio tapes and several videotapes that were made during the investigation.
Last summer, a federal grand jury indicted Rinick of drug trafficking in Philadelphia and New Jersey, said Rich Manieri, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office
The 11-count federal indictment charges Rinick with selling more than 50 kilograms of cocaine out of his Camac Street home and in the vicinity of Camac and Tasker streets, among other locations, Manieri said.
In addition to federal conspiracy to deliver cocaine, Rinick was charged with seven counts of drug distribution and two counts of distributing cocaine within 1,000 feet of South Philadelphia High School.
If convicted, the suspect won’t see the outside of a prison cell for the remainder of his days.
Rinick has maintained that his extravagant lifestyle — the posh home on Camac Street, the expensive cars and motorcycles and the wads of cash — were a result of his real-estate investments and rent he collected from his tenants.
He remains in jail without bail.
Safe for the holidays
Captain Bob Higgins of Engine Co. 3 at 210 Washington Ave., along with the entire Philadelphia Fire Department, has some suggestions for a fire-safe holiday season:
* When decorating, check lights and extension cords carefully for defective, broken or frayed wiring.
* Make sure all socket connections and plugs are in perfect condition.
* Don’t overload wall sockets and extension cords.
* Be sure not to run electrical cords under carpeting.
* Use only lights specifically marked for "outside use" when decorating outdoor displays.
* Turn off all decorative lighting when you leave the house and at bedtime.
* Keep Christmas trees away from radiators, heat outlets, fireplaces and heavy foot traffic.
