Published on April 21 | Updated on April 22
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A 26-year-old man has been charged after allegedly crashing his vehicle into the Philadelphia Police Department’s 2nd District building on Castor Avenue in the Rhawnhurst section of Northeast Philadelphia, in what officials said was intentional.
Police said it was just before 2 p.m. on Tuesday when Dieufort Joly crashed his Hyundai SUV into the lobby of the police station along the 7300 block of Castor Avenue, near Cottman Avenue.
“It is clearly an absolute deliberate act, based on the video that we watched,” said Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel at a news conference shortly after the incident. “The individual was traveling in the lane of traffic and then, intentionally — based on our viewpoint of the video — goes directly into the lobby of the 2nd District.”
Five people were reportedly in the lobby when the vehicle crashed into the building. They were taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Joly was taken into custody at the scene.
“All of a sudden, I heard a loud boom and continuous shattering of glass. I thought it was the police being under attack,” said Clarence Armstrong, who was in the restroom when it happened. He noted that he would have been seriously hurt had it happened just minutes earlier, as he had been asleep on the bench outside.
“They say life is about timing and timing is everything. I was in the right place at the right time.”
Joly has been charged with several counts of aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment, as well as causing catastrophe, criminal mischief, possession of an instrument in a crime, and institutional vandalism.
Dieufort JolyPhiladelphia Police Department
Around 11:45 a.m., police responded to reports of a domestic disturbance at the suspect’s home, according to District Attorney Larry Krasner.
“Based on the information I have, which is somewhat unclear, there was mention of a dispute in relation to the sale of a car, and there was mention of possible return to Haiti,” he said.
Joly is a Haitian national. His passport has been withheld and he is being detained on $1.7 million bail.
