PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A person on an illegal dirt bike crashed into a Philadelphia highway patrol officer on a motorcycle in the Northeast Wednesday night.
The officer was on his motorcycle at Stanwood and Leon streets around 9:30 p.m. when a man on a dirt bike came flying by, according to Chief Inspector Scott Small.
“All the witnesses say the dirt bike was traveling at a high rate of speed. Clearly went through the stop sign, striking the left side of this highway patrol motorcycle,” Small said.
The officer and the 22-year-old man were knocked to the ground. A witness in the neighborhood, Anthony Wade, ran out of his house and over to the crash site to see if he could help — and the officer asked for it. Wade stopped the suspect from getting away.
“The officer told me not to let [the suspect] leave. The kid tried to kickstart the bike,” Wade told NBC10. “I ripped him off the bike and we got in a pushing match, and the cop hollered at him to get down on the ground.”
Wade and the sergeant held onto the suspect until other officers arrived. The man was not hurt. His dirt bike did not have any lights or a license plate, and it was confiscated by police, investigators said.
The officer was taken to the hospital for injuries to his left ankle and left side.
Police have witness accounts and surveillance footage to work with as they investigate the incident. No word yet on charges.