Updated: June 6, 9:10 a.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Authorities are hoping to get more tips and gain access to more videos to help them piece together the full story of what happened on I-95 in Center City on Sunday morning when a Pennsylvania state trooper shot and killed an 18-year-old driver.
State police are assisting the Philadelphia Police Department in the investigation into the incident, including reports of street racing stunts, fireworks and gunfire before state police arrived on the scene around 3:30 a.m. They say they encountered a street racing meet full of vehicles illegally blocking the southbound lanes and numerous spectators standing outside of their cars.
State Police Troop K Commanding Officer Gerard McShea said two troopers saw four people enter a black Audi S4 parked on the shoulder of I-95, with its license plate obscured.
“Troopers positioned their vehicle in front of the Audi and exited their vehicle on foot. While on foot, the operator of the Audi, later identified as Anthony Allegrini Jr., 18 years of age from Delaware County, Pennsylvania, failed to yield and struck the two troopers,” McShea said.
“One trooper then discharged his service pistol through the front windshield and struck Allegrini, who was seated in the driver's seat.”
Allegrini was pronounced dead on the scene by medics, while the two troopers had minor injuries.
“The recklessness of these car meetups and the risks they pose to those involved as well as those who happen to come upon them, especially on 95 — one of the most traveled roadways within the commonwealth — cannot be underestimated,” McShea said.
Big questions persist
But there are questions. Video circulating on social media shows a young man writhing in pain on the blacktop with a gun pointed at him, not in the car as troopers said.
“We are collecting all this video surveillance or anything that’s available to us,” McShea said. “We are scrubbing the internet to get everything we can. Obviously there are going to be videos popping up for weeks that are going to depict or may show something that may change the way we think about things.”
One such video state troopers say they do have, and which is circulating on social media, shows a young man rolling around on the surface of I-95 as a trooper walks around with his gun drawn.
“Then there’s circumstances you have to take into account — the volatileness of the situation … and what’s going on around them.”
McShea said he could not get into any specifics while the investigation remains active.
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District Attorney Larry Krasner said his office is independently investigating the fatal encounter as well, and there will come a time when it is clear to all what happened Sunday morning. He said he urges the public to send in cellphone video and any information as they try and figure out what happened.
“The truth matters. We don't know all the details yet. We won't know them until we have all available information, be that additional video — and we ask anyone out there who has additional video, please come forward with it so we can see it — or be that additional witnesses, forensics, other information that we will need,” Krasner said.
“I don't know that there's anything more important in a situation like this than everyone involved and everyone uninvolved understanding that we will do whatever we can to get the truth — that any legal consequence, if there is any legal consequence in civil court or in criminal court, will flow from what the truth is.”
Krasner said law enforcement officers are "up against a lot" when responding to these sorts of calls.
"My heart goes out to law enforcement when they try to wrap their arms around drifting, around street racing, around these substantial challenges — where the tools in their toolbox have to be used so carefully, because there's such a danger that things could get even worse if they simply engage in pursuits of vehicles."
Family demands full transparency
Attorney Enrique Latoison spoke on behalf of Allegrini’s family at a press conference Monday evening, where he called for full transparency in the investigation.
“We expect state police to release all videos and all evidence through this investigation, through us, representatives, to make sure there’s an independent look at what takes place in this case,” he said.
Latoison described Allegrini as a “good kid” who did not participate in the “mayhem” of the Sunday morning car meet.
“The reality is, you’re talking about a spectator who was leaving, who has always been respectful to the police, respectful to authority, and was on his way out,” he said, “and now he’s dead.”
The family also claims he did not receive medical treatment after he was shot.
“This is not gonna be something that’s just gonna go away, that the truth is not gonna come out and the full investigation is not gonna be done,” Latoison added. “We’re not gonna be OK with that.”
‘These are not victimless crimes’
Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said four similar incidents took place in the hours preceding the I-95 encounter.
— Shortly after 1 a.m., at an illegal street takeover with hundreds of people at Bustleton and Philmont avenues, dozens of people threw objects at police, including bricks, and a participant was caught on video physically assaulting a pedestrian.
— Around the same time, officers responded to a report of drag racing at Bustleton Avenue and Byberry Road. One driver backed his car into a police car, then evaded other officers before driving away into Montgomery County.
— Around 2:30 a.m., at Broad and York streets, officers responding to a report of gunshots and drag racing encountered people lighting fireworks and throwing flowerpots and other debris at them, shattering the windshield of a police car.
— In the same area, around 3 a.m., a drunk man "became irate" and attacked an investigating officer. The officer sustained some injuries while taking him into custody.
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"If anyone was participating in this activity, do not think for a moment that you got away with it," Outlaw said. "We are not done. This is not over. Rest assured, there are cameras everywhere. There are mountains and mountains of evidence to go through, and we are going to use that evidence to make arrests where warranted.
"This isn't a game. And these are not victimless crimes. Laws are being broken, communities are being terrorized, and people are getting hurt. Those involved need to be held accountable."
Many nearby residents are fed up with the chaos. Chris Bordelon, president of the Somerton Civic Association, believes there is a general perception that people can come to Philly, do what they want, leave, and get away with it because of a lack of enforcement.
“There’s gonna be people who bring this up at our civic meetings. There’s gonna be people who are very angry about it. There’s gonna be people who decide they are going to throw in the towel and leave. I mean, that’s unfortunately what this seems to beget when the laws aren’t enforced,” he said.
State police say the two troopers will remain on desk duty for at least a couple of days, until they can be reinterviewed and placed somewhere else until the outcome of the investigation. They were not wearing body cameras, as the state is still rolling out the program — but authorities say there is some dashcam footage.
State police from another barracks outside of Philadelphia will handle the investigation.
Meanwhile, anyone with information about what happened over the weekend or any upcoming similar events is urged to call or text the Philadelphia Police Department’s tip line at 215-686-TIPS. All tips remain anonymous.