Press Releases
News
Released: 7/22/2019
DRPA Issues Statement on July 22 incident at the Walt Whitman Bridge
On Monday, July 22, at approximately 12:40 a.m., Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) police officers were faced with an unfortunate situation in response to a 17-year-old male juvenile crashed a stolen school bus in the eastbound lanes of the Walt Whitman Bridge.
When officers arrived at the crash scene, they observed a masked individual leaving the scene of the accident and walking eastbound in the traffic lanes of the bridge. The suspect failed to comply with officer’s commands and began to walk into oncoming eastbound traffic. The suspect wielded a knife and began walking towards the officers. The officers began to back up while the suspect continued to ignore commands to stop. The masked suspect suddenly charged at the officers with the knife in hand giving the officers no choice but to discharge their weapons, striking the individual. Once the suspect’s weapon was secured, DRPA officers immediately administrated first aid. The suspect was subsequently transported to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and remains in stable condition. The DRPA officers were evaluated at an area hospital and have been released.
The Philadelphia Police Department is assisting in this investigation and the DRPA is fully cooperating. The incident remains under investigation and no additional details are available at this time.
[ Return to List ]