Police still investigating cause of weekend crash

The cause of Sunday's five-car accident at 42nd and Walnut streets -- in which two University Police officers were injured -- remains unclear and is still under investigation, police officials said. No one was seriously injured in the crash, which occurred at approximately 8:40 p.m. Sunday when a car heading south on 42nd Street toward Walnut Street struck a westbound University Police car driven by Officer Len Harrison. Harrison and University Police Officer Mike Sylvester were treated and released from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Sunday for minor injuries including whiplash and shoulder contusion, according to Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush. Rush said it is still unknown whether Harrison failed to stop at a red light at 42nd and Walnut streets before the accident. "We're still investigating that," Rush said. The driver of the 1985 Ford Thunderbird that struck Harrison's vehicle was treated and released Sunday from Allegheny University's Hahnemann Hospital at Broad and Vine streets. Rush noted that the driver was likely to have had the right-of-way in going through a green light at the intersection. "It doesn't appear that [the Thunderbird's driver] did [run a red light]," Rush said, adding that the driver apparently did not "slow down in time" to avoid hitting the University Police vehicle. A witness to the accident said the University Police vehicle sped through a red light at 42nd and Walnut streets with its roof lights flashing, but without using its sirens. Bassam Lakish, an Allegheny University student who works in University City, said the University Police cruiser "came flying down the street." "I never saw a brake light come on," he said, adding that the explanation Philadelphia and University police officers gave The Daily Pennsylvanian Sunday night -- that the crash was merely an accident -- is "a bunch of baloney." But Rush maintained that Harrison was "not going fast, as [the officers] were attempting to get out of the way" of a Philadelphia Police van that activated its sirens after receiving a radio call to assist city police officers. She said Harrison attempted to swerve out of the path of the Philadelphia Police van as the vehicles approached 42nd and Walnut streets, but the Thunderbird crashed into the University Police vehicle, sending it careening into several cars parked nearby. Philadelphia Police Lt. Kevin Bethel explained that the officers in the van were responding to a dispatch call to assist other officers pursuing suspects from an earlier shooting. Rush said that while she is not sure when Harrison and Sylvester -- who are members of the University Police Special Response Team -- will return to work. Other officers will work overtime hours in order to keep the team at full strength. "We will ensure that staffing prevails," said Rush, who would not divulge the number of officers in the unit. She added that the Division of Public Safety will not have to replace the vehicle involved in the accident, as the car will only require some body work.

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