Police Chase Ends With Driver Plowing Vehicle Into A Playground
By Syma Chowdhry
PHILADELPHIA (CBS)--"I hear a 'Boom' and first thing I think is gunshots," said neighbor Melissa Johnson.
She and other neighbors woke up to a loud noise at Fairhill Square in Kensington around 2:45 this morning.
They couldn't believe what they saw next, calling it a scene from a movie.
"Whoever that did this, I am assuming that they thought they were in the 'Fast and the Furious' movie," she said.
But this was no action film, as police chased the driver of a Dodge Challenger up a narrow Leithgow Street.
Police say the driver was pulled over for not stopping at a stop sign.
When the officer got out of his cruiser, police say the man fled at a high speed.
The driver then lost control of the car and plowed into a playground and landed on top of a slide in Fairhill Square on West Huntingdon Street.
Jorge Vargas witnessed the incident. "When I go to the corner, I hear it 'Powwwww.'"
Witnesses say the driver was able to get out and tried to run inside a nearby building.
Erika Torres explained, "The guy ran out and ran into a building right there."
Jorge Vargas saw the suspect and alerted police.
"I said 'yo, yo, yo.' So the police came and I said, 'he go this way, he go this way."
Workers from the Department of Recreation are working to remove the slide so the rest of the structure can be available for children to play on.
Neighbors say the park is an important part of their community.
"We have a lot of events out here," Torres explained. "They have movie nights out here."
Workers tell us it will take a couple of days for the playground to reopen.
No arrests have been made, but a handgun was found inside the car.
Detectives are continuing to investigate.
