Boy, 7, fatally struck by car in Tioga-Nicetown

TIOGA-NICETOWN (WPVI) -- A child was killed after he was first struck by a car and then trapped underneath the vehicle in Philadelphia's Tioga-Nicetown section.

Police say around 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, the boy was with his mother and sisters, walking home from school on the 3600 block of North 15th Street near Erie Avenue.

The child walked between two parked cars and into the street and he was struck by a Buick LeSabre.

The driver stopped but witnesses say because he was unsure of what he hit, the man started to back up injuring the child even more.

A neighbor who doesn't want to be identified says he and the driver frantically used a car jack to try to lift the vehicle off the boy.

"I knew it was bad. I didn't know if he was going to be responsive or not but at the same time someone was on the phone with 911 and they said don't jack it up," he said.

The distraught 52-year-old driver, who was taken in for questioning, spoke with Action News off camera.

He says he didn't see the boy but he didn't want to say anymore out of respect to the young victim's family.

"The car wasn't speeding. There is no impairment. It was very unfortunate that the child wandered into the street. It's a bad situation all the way around," said Capt John Wilczynski, Philadelphia Police.

Neighbor Sydney Richburg ran out of her home to console the boy's sisters.

"There's no words to describe what I just experienced. I've never experienced anything like that and I really feel sorry for the family," said Richburg.

Police have not released the names of the driver or the boy who was killed.

The accident is under investigation.