Mother, 3 young sons killed crossing Roosevelt Boulevard *street racing related*

[Spawne32]

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...cal&id=9174714

OLNEY - July 17, 2013 (WPVI) -- A mother and three of her four young sons were struck and killed Tuesday night while trying to cross Roosevelt Boulevard.

Police say 28-year-old Samara Selena Banks and her four young boys, from the 4600 Block of C Street, were crossing Roosevelt Boulevard at North Second Street in Olney just before 10:30 p.m. when they were struck by a 2012 Audi.

According to police, the Audi lost control and struck the family.

Samara and her 1½-year-old son Saa-sean Williams were pronounced dead at the scene.
9-month-old Saa-mir Williams, was transported to Albert Einstein Medical Center where he later died.

Samara's 4-year-old son Saa-deem Griffin was transported to Saint Christopher's Hospital where he was pronounced dead early Wednesday.

Samara's fourth child, 5-year-old Saa-yon Griffin remains in stable condition at Albert Einstein Medical Center with bumps and bruises.

The 22-year-old driver of the Audi remained at the scene and was taken to Philadelphia Police Headquarters for questioning and to undergo blood testing to determine if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Accident investigators poured over the scene, talking to witnesses and other drivers.

There's no painted crosswalk on the street, but there are cutouts in the grass where people cross.

Witnesses tell police they saw the Audi racing a 1994 Honda before the crash, driving close to 100 miles per hour.

"At this time we are not sure. We are getting some information that there may have been drag racing. That is something that Accident Investigations is going to determine," said Chief Inspector Scott Small.

Both southbound inner lanes of the Boulevard were shut down throughout the night during the investigation; they were opened early Wednesday morning.

Police tell Action News that charges in this incident are pending.

(Copyright ©2013 WPVI-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

Any one recognize the plate?

[AWD GS]

feel bad for her one son that will probably survive. lost everyone because of 1 stupid idiot.

[tigasTT]

So sad to hear this... Very sad news

[Big_Jim]

Very sad indeed.

One of the videos I saw showed the civic in question. Was white, with low offset wheels and what looked to be an intercooler behind the front grill.

[jpalamar]

So they got hit by a car not using a cross walk? Howany points is that again?

[AWD GS]

Originally Posted by jpalamar

So they got hit by a car not using a cross walk? Howany points is that again?

does it matter? would being in a cross walk somehow shield her from idiots street racing?

[2g Talon]

No, but since jay walking is Illegal for just this reason. Not saying I condone it, but I actually agree with you awd gs, the one kid is completely alone because of one young adult who made a stupid decision and it will probably destroy what is left of his life.

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[Slasher]

Originally Posted by jpalamar

So they got hit by a car not using a cross walk? Howany points is that again?

wow...hope your kids never cross the street "illegally"....maybe it's just me but your post comes off a bit "good ol' boy" if you know what i mean...

Pray tell...what does anything they were doing have to do with this:
According to police, the Audi lost control and struck the family.

[Vr-4-Life]

Looks like a white hatch in the distance...

[HatchSurfer3]

This is so sad, regardless if it was racing related or not. Anyone from the area know if that is a safe spot for a woman with 4 very young children to be crossing the street at 10:30pm?

Also, just because they Audi lost control does not mean it was racing at the time. Maybe the driver saw the family too late and tried to swerve? I'm not defending the driver at all. Just trying to think of all possible situations before stoning the person because someone said they saw him racing. I have almost hit plenty of people, in broad daylight driving the speed limit in my dailiy because they decided to just walk out into the street (not at a crosswalk) and not looking/caring about cars coming down the road. It seems to be an increasing trend.

[AWD GS]

Originally Posted by HatchSurfer3

I have almost hit plenty of people, in broad daylight driving the speed limit in my dailiy because they decided to just walk out into the street (not at a crosswalk) and not looking/caring about cars coming down the road

i hear what your saying but that doesnt seem to be the case

Originally Posted by Spawne32

Witnesses tell police they saw the Audi racing a 1994 Honda before the crash, driving close to 100 miles per hour.

[Philly03wagon]

Originally Posted by HatchSurfer3

This is so sad, regardless if it was racing related or not. Anyone from the area know if that is a safe spot for a woman with 4 very young children to be crossing the street at 10:30pm?

My uncle and father used to live around the corner from the accident scene. I've crossed this part of the blvd myslef numerous times when I was younger.

Really depends on the person crossing honestly. There are street lights along where she crossed and openings on the medians for people to cross. If it was one person crossing, they may have had the time to run across the street with no problems. But crossing while pushing a stroller and keeping an eye on three kids under the age of 5 could be a bit of a problem.

My guess is that she thought she had plenty of time to get across the street. A lot of motorists driving up and down the blvd dont anticipate people that arent crossing at the corners, especially at night. A little farther up the blvd, they're are desginated cross walks with traffic lights triggered by people pushing buttons to cross. This area does not have such lights.

I agree that the driver didnt lose to control but swerved not to hit the family, which would explain the damage to the left front side as opposed to the middle. Either that, or the driver did not see them and the woman tried to run across the street when she heard the cars getting close but didnt make it in time.

Even if the driver was racing his stock Audi against the civic in the picture, she would have heard the Civic exhaust, which, as most of us on this forum can agree, would have had an aftermarket exhaust that would have been heard a good distance away.

Regardless of the situation, this should have never happened and now a young boy has to grow up with most of his immediate family gone.

[jpalamar]

Originally Posted by Slasher

wow...hope your kids never cross the street "illegally"....maybe it's just me but your post comes off a bit "good ol' boy" if you know what i mean...

I'm not happy people died... I just won't loose any sleep over it since it could of easily been avoided had she walked a block down the road to a cross walk.

Some asshole ran out between cars in Center City a few years back and I 'bumped' him. I wasn't speeding or anything. He put a dent in my rear 1/4 cause he jumped into the side of my car. My experience leaves me with zero ****s given about people jay walking since I had to pay for the repair myself since the a-hole wouldn't wait for the cops to come.

[ITSTOCK]

Different article that makes this accident seem completely unrelated. No speculation or sensationalism in this one...

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Mo...nd_killed.html

Sad to see anyone die, let alone a mother and three of her kids.

[HatchSurfer3]

Originally Posted by AWD GS

i hear what your saying but that doesnt seem to be the case

Yea, but its hearsay and may not have been the case. Like I said, I'm not defending the driver, just don't want to jump to assumptions.

Originally Posted by ITSTOCK

Different article that makes this accident seem completely unrelated. No speculation or sensationalism in this one...

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Mo...nd_killed.html

Sad to see anyone die, let alone a mother and three of her kids.

This is why, this article makes no note of any speeding or foul play. However, that article is horribly written so who knows haha.

[HatchSurfer3]

Originally Posted by Philly03wagon

My uncle and father used to live around the corner from the accident scene. I've crossed this part of the blvd myslef numerous times when I was younger.

Really depends on the person crossing honestly. There are street lights along where she crossed and openings on the medians for people to cross. If it was one person crossing, they may have had the time to run across the street with no problems. But crossing while pushing a stroller and keeping an eye on three kids under the age of 5 could be a bit of a problem.

My guess is that she thought she had plenty of time to get across the street. A lot of motorists driving up and down the blvd dont anticipate people that arent crossing at the corners, especially at night. A little farther up the blvd, they're are desginated cross walks with traffic lights triggered by people pushing buttons to cross. This area does not have such lights.

I agree that the driver didnt lose to control but swerved not to hit the family, which would explain the damage to the left front side as opposed to the middle. Either that, or the driver did not see them and the woman tried to run across the street when she heard the cars getting close but didnt make it in time.

Even if the driver was racing his stock Audi against the civic in the picture, she would have heard the Civic exhaust, which, as most of us on this forum can agree, would have had an aftermarket exhaust that would have been heard a good distance away.

Regardless of the situation, this should have never happened and now a young boy has to grow up with most of his immediate family gone.

Yea i agree, regardless of how it happened its still terrible. But that makes me sad. When you have 4 kids with you, go to a well lit cross walk with a light. You should be teaching your kids these things anyway. Not to try and run across a busy street at night.

[Scapegoat]

doesn't sound like the street was busy other than the two assholes barreling down it.

[TNTramair]

so the dude is appearently out on bail right now awaiting trial for fraud. he used an ambulance company to report false patient claims (or something to that effect) to various insurance companys to the tune of $3.5 million. and than this happens.....talk about being up ****s creek. they also pulled his facebook/youtube accounts and now have several videos of him actually drag racing in other siuations with that same Audi...what a moron.

shame people lost their lives but c/mon man....really....crossing the blvd with no light in the middle of the nite with 4 children all under the age of 5?!?!?! how retarded can a person be.

[2g Talon]

I wonder if he'll be deported. I read something that he's here on a visa, but it could be wrong. What a ****head.

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[ricky2i5]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/br...t_on_bail.html

https://www.facebook.com/hass.akhmed...6250327&type=2


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