When Rachel Saklad and her friends went to the preseason Eagles game Friday night, they left during halftime to avoid some of the post-game "craziness."
Their plan didn’t work — at least not for Saklad.
While walking through a parking lot at 3201 Broad St., the 23-year-old was intentionally run over by a group of five young men in a Dodge Durango, she said.
Saklad’s injuries have confined her to a wheelchair. Her entire body — head to toe — is bruised, she said. Her right leg is sprained, her left ankle is shattered and her left leg has third-degree burns from knee to foot.
"There is no skin on the whole inside of my left leg. There are tire tracks all down my leg," the Fox Chase resident told the Review yesterday.
The victim requires surgery and will have pins inserted in her left leg; she’ll also need plastic surgery for the burns.
Saklad’s nightmare started when she, her sister and three of their friends cut through a parking lot to get to their car in another lot.
The group was spread out and not walking single file, Saklad explained.
The driver of a dark-gray Durango with tinted windows pulled up and the men inside began yelling for the friends to get out of the way. Words were exchanged between two male friends in Saklad’s party and the group in the Durango, the victim said.
Soon after, Saklad, who was walking ahead of the group, turned around and saw the SUV barreling toward her. The young woman held up her hand to try to stop the impact but it was too late.
The driver of the Durango hit her head-on. The force of the crash spun Saklad around and threw her to the ground. The driver ran over her left leg before speeding away.
The victim’s friends called police and a medic took Saklad to Methodist Hospital.
"I thought I was dying. I was laying on the ground screaming, ‘I’m dying. I’m dying. This is it.’ I thought my leg was paralyzed — I couldn’t move it," Saklad said.
The Traffic Unit of the Philadelphia Police Department was originally handling the case, but yesterday, the Accident Investigation Division took it over, said Officer Maria Ibrahim of the Police Public Affairs Unit.
A recent Widener University graduate with a teaching degree, Saklad does not have medical insurance. Her medical bills are mounting and, because of the accident, she can’t work. The victim is relying on her mother and friends to care for her.
"My life is ruined right now. I was supposed to go to Vegas next week, all paid for, and I can’t go now," she said. "I can’t understand how someone can do that to another person and just drive away. They were young boys."
The victim wants anyone with information to come forward — including some of the Durango passengers.
"I would hate to see this happen to another kid," said Saklad’s mother, Janet. "It’s a nightmare. It’s turned her whole life upside-down."
To report information, call the Police Accident Investigation Division at 215-685-0069.
Shot over a purse
When a woman refused to hand over her handbag to an armed robber Monday, the thug unleashed his fury by firing three bullets, police said.
The 48-year-old victim was struck in her left foot in the 5:25 p.m. incident on the 2900 block of Wharton Street, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detective Division.
The victim and a 22-year-old friend were standing on the block when the armed man approached and demanded the older woman’s purse, the sergeant said.
After the victim put up a brief fight, the man fired three shots at her, then snatched her bag — containing $200 — and fled, said Biello.
The victim was treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Brutal breakup
Police arrested a man who allegedly bit his ex-girlfriend and slapped her around after she told him she had changed her mind and did not want to resume seeing him.
The suspect visited the woman’s home on the 1700 block of Montrose Street around 9 p.m. last Thursday, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives.
An argument broke out when the 31-year-old victim, who is the mother of the suspect’s child, told the man she had changed her mind about seeing him, the sergeant said.
The spurned lover allegedly vented his rage by biting the victim several times and slapping and punching her, Biello said.
The suspect also is accused of taking $60 and the woman’s cell phone and watch before getting in his car and driving off, police said.
Police nabbed Charles Harris, 44, of the 1200 block of Christian Street, and charged him with aggravated and simple assault, robbery, recklessly endangering another person and receiving stolen property.
The victim was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in stable condition.
Axed for it?
A 34-year-old man helping his father move furniture inside his home apparently wasn’t moving fast enough, so his father grabbed an ax and clobbered him over his head, police said.
Police arrested James Spurrill, 62, of the 2300 block of Latona Street, after Tuesday’s 12:30 a.m. incident, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives. Spurrill was charged with aggravated and simple assault, possession of an instrument of crime, recklessly endangering another person and terroristic threats.
Investigators say Spurrill grew angry that his son was not getting the job done quick enough for his liking. The son left the house for a while, thinking he would give his father time to cool off, but when he returned, his dad was still upset, Biello said.
As the victim was sitting on the front steps of the dwelling, his father opened the door and allegedly swung an ax at him, hitting him on the left side of his head, said the sergeant.
Police recovered the ax at the scene and the victim was taken to Graduate Hospital, where he was treated for a large lump on his head.
Second arrest in boy’s slaying
The second suspect and alleged shooter wanted in the July 1 slaying of 15-year-old Malik Upchurch is no longer a fugitive.
Homicide Fugitive Division detectives and U.S. marshals nabbed Jermaine King, 20, in Southwest Philly on Friday, said Detective John Keen of the division.
Acting on a tip from an informant, authorities swooped in and arrested King around 2 p.m. inside an apartment in Bartram Village on the 5400 block of Bartram Avenue, Keen said.
After eluding the law for more than a month, the resident of the 3100 block of Tasker Street was arrested without incident, the detective added.
On July 7, police arrested Aleem Williams, 17, of Grays Ferry, and charged him with Upchurch’s murder.
An arrest warrant also was issued for King, who police say was Williams’ alleged accomplice.
Upchurch was riding his bike on the 2800 block of Wharton Street around 3:30 p.m. July 1 when the suspects rode up on bikes and blocked his path, Keen said. An argument ensued, and King allegedly fired one shot into Upchurch’s chest, said the detective.
Rewards for information
The Citizens Crime Commission is offering rewards totaling $30,000 for information in three unsolved local crimes.
The missing-person case of Maria Procopio dates back nearly five years. The South Philly resident was last seen Sept. 24, 1999, in the vicinity of Newtown Square Shopping Center at Routes 3 and 252 in Newtown Square. Procopio, 38, was driving a red Pontiac Sunbird, which police recovered in Bridgeport on Oct. 7, 1999. A $10,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to Procopio’s whereabouts or the circumstances of her disappearance.
Terreke Peterson was fatally shot Aug. 16, 2002, on the 1700 block of Snyder Avenue. The 24-year-old had been shot multiple times in the head. A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whomever is responsible.
Luckily Ky, 19, was gunned down while working in his family’s store at 17th and Moore streets on Dec. 8 of last year. Ky was slain during a struggle with two armed robbers. A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the culprits.
In order to be eligible for the rewards, callers must call the Crime Commission Tipline (215-546-TIPS). If the information is considered substantial and pertinent to the case, and is not already on file, the operator will issue a code number to the caller to be used to collect the reward, said vice president Santo Montecalvo.
Instituted in 1986, the tipline operates 24/7 and is manned by live, experienced operators, not answering machines or voicemail.
Various police departments have approached the commission when they have had a particularly tough case and have reached a dead end in their investigations. Since its inception in 1954, the commission has been credited with hundreds of arrests through tipline information.
All Review police, court and fire-related items are collected from or verified by official sources.
Items are roughly prioritized by urgency or news value. If you have already reported an incident or missing person to police and would like to inform us, call crime reporter Lorraine Gennaro at 215-336-2500 ext. 124.
