Police are looking to speak to occupants of a vehicle that was seen on surveillance video speeding close to an Acura that crashed Wednesday night, killing three and injuring two other passengers.
Around 11:40 p.m. on Sandmeyer Lane, near Red Lion Road, a 2007 model Acura TL lost control on a sharp turn when it was doing "over 75" miles per hours said Police Capt. John Wilczynski during a press conference Thursday. Speed limits for that area were likely between 25 and 35 miles per hour, he added.
"Any car going that fast isn't going to make that turn," Wilczynski said.
The second car did not stay around the area, police said. When they arrived on scene, officials found a heap of metal and debris that no longer formed the shape of a car. The Acura had been ripped in half after jumping a curb, going airborne and hitting a tree, officials said. Photos of the wrecked car showed exposed seats, twisted metal and deflated airbags.
While police could not say for sure, they said it was unlikely the Acura's occupants were wearing their seatbelts.
The driver of the vehicle was not at the crash site when police arrived. In the early hours of Thursday morning, he arrived at Albert Einstein Medical Center, police said. At their afternoon press conference, police did not say how, exactly he had gotten to the hospital.
"He is being treated and is cooperative at this point," Wilczynski said of the driver, 20.
The names of the driver and other occupants involved in the crash were not released. Of the dead, two were 17-year-old females and the other was a 20-year-old male. A critically injured 17-year-old male was still being treated at Jefferson University Hospital.
Police said they saw surveillance of two vehicles speeding by the area just prior to when the crash occurred. Wilczynski said that drag racing did occur in the area and that it was likely a race played a role in the crash. No charges have yet been filed against the driver of the Acura and police said there was no indication that he was on drugs or intoxicated.
As they continue to investigate the crash, police repeatedly said it was important for them to talk with anyone who was in the other car video recorded speeding near the Acura in the surveillance video.
"They have a responsibility to give us some of the information that they saw," Wilczynski said. The make and model of the other car is unclear, police officials said.