Trolley accident harms one pedestrian

A SEPTA trolley turning onto Spruce Street hit and injured a woman at the 40th Street intersection shortly after 6 p.m. yesterday.

The victim, described as a black woman in her 60s, sustained only minor injuries, according to a Penn police officer. She was taken via ambulance to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she was treated and released within a few hours.

One witness said the victim was crossing the street in a hurry when the accident happened.

"The lady was trying to run to catch a trolley, and she slipped and it just hit her," said Kenneth Horsey, a resident of nearby Darby, Pa.

Others described the injury more dramatically.

"She flipped over at least four to six times," said Darby resident Robert Stalker, who witnessed part of the accident. "I [saw] this trolley go pretty fast."

Stalker, who had some blood on his hands as a result of the accident, described how he placed his fleece under the victim's head in an attempt to ease her pain after the accident.

The accident created a backup of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority trolleys along 40th Street that stretched five blocks to the Market Street intersection and created a traffic backup for area residents and stranded commuters coming from Center City.

"I just [saw] the trolley sitting there, [and] she was laying on the ground out there," said Philadelphia resident Kevin Williams, who came out of Allegro Pizza after hearing the commotion. "She was in pain. ... [Her] son said she couldn't see that good."

Neither SEPTA nor the University of Pennsylvania Police Department would comment further on the accident last night.

"As far as I know, the incident is still under investigation," Penn Police Cpl. Michele Davis said.

"It's under investigation both by the Philadelphia and the SEPTA police," company spokesman Richard Maloney said. "We don't know anything. We have no information at this time. It's still very early."

The trolleys, which are running on 40th Street because of ongoing work in the tunnels between City Hall and University City, usually do not surface before the intersection of 40th and Baltimore streets.

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