A bill that would fine people who intimidate witnesses and then utilize the money to assist victims and witnesses was put on hold by City Council yesterday after Mayor Nutter said that he would dedicate $200,000 in city money for witness protection.
"Hopefully this will get the ball rolling with the state and the federal government to create a real protection program that people can have confidence in," Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. said.
Riding against crime
The Midnight Ride for Peace, a periodic, motorized stand against violence, will roll through crime hot spots tonight in South Philadelphia. Those interested in participating in the event, sponsored by Men United for a Better Philadelphia and the Police Department, should start up their motorcycles and classic cars and gather at City Hall at 10 p.m. to hear speakers. Kickstands go up at 11.
Autopsy: State cop was drunk
State Police Cpl. John Quigg, 48, who died in a head-on crash after driving the wrong way on the Schuylkill Expressway early Tuesday was driving drunk, according to autopsy results released yesterday. Quigg, of Wyndmoor, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.27 percent, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent, when he entered I-76 from the Spring Garden exit ramp, according to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office.
Quigg, an accident reconstructionist and drug-recognition expert who had supervised state police sobriety checkpoints, had been on desk duty since December, when he was arrested for DUI after a low-speed crash in Upper Merion. He faced a hearing on that case the day he died. The driver of the car Quigg crashed into remained hospitalized yesterday with severe leg injuries.
Bells Corner loop complete
SEPTA marked the completion yesterday of an extensive overhaul at the Bells Corner Loop in Northeast Philadelphia.
