Driver killed and two state police officers injured in accident

On Friday morning, a driver was killed and two state police troopers were injured in a crash in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood. Pennsylvania State Police say troopers were driving south on Columbus Boulevard near the Race Street Pier around 1:30 a.m. when they collided with a pickup truck. A witness claimed, “State police troopers were pursuing a vehicle down Columbus Boulevard and then made a sharp right turn onto Race Street, which is a one-way street. That’s when the troopers crashed into the pickup truck. The truck overturned and the state police troopers crashed into a pole.” A state police spokesperson denied this, saying troopers were assisting with another incident at the time of the crash and were not involved in a pursuit. The spokesman also said the driver of the pickup truck – who was not involved in the incident – illegally turned left from the northbound lanes of Columbus Boulevard toward Race Street and then found himself in the path of oncoming police officers. “The officers were unable to avoid the collision and struck the truck on the passenger side,” the spokesman wrote.