PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police are searching for the driver of a car that went off a bridge and into Wissahickon Creek early Sunday morning.
Authorities said they received a call at 12:45 a.m. of a report that a car was in the creek off Ridge Avenue by the SEPTA bus depot in East Falls. When emergency crews, including the Marine Unit, arrived, they found a heavily damaged gray sedan, but no driver at the scene.
Neighbors William Hummel and Milton Rivers observed the scene, looking over yellow caution tape stretching across what used to be an iron bridge railing at Ridge Avenue.
“Yeah, went over there and looked and saw the car,” said Rivers. “I don’t see any tracks, so I don’t know how he got there.”
Hummel said he woke up to messages from neighbors and alerts on social media saying a car went over the bridge nearby.
“I saw that someone drove off the bridge,” he said. “Car flipped over. Windshield busted front and back of the car. The moon roof all caved in. Yeah, total mess.”
Hummel said he’s amazed the driver survived but is concerned that the incident poses a safety hazard, as he described that particular part of the road is dangerous and even more so now without a protective railing.
“Remembering 2021 when the storm hit and that side of the bridge was wiped out, and they just replaced it last year,” he said.
“Now this side, they’re going to have to replace it now. Hopefully, it won’t take too long to replace. That’s all.”
Authorities are still looking for the driver of the vehicle.