Roosevelt Boulevard

DEFENSE attorneys for two men charged with murdering four people with a car speeding away from an armed robbery persuaded a judge Thursday to bar the most graphic death-scene photos from the trial. The photos of the severed limbs and crushed bones of the three children and young mother killed on the sidewalk at 3rd and Annsbury streets on June 10, 2009, would serve no purpose other than to inflame jurors' passions, said attorneys for Ivan Rodriguez, 23, and Donta Craddock, 21, who are charged with four counts of second-degree murder.

One person was killed in an accident on Roosevelt Boulevard Sunday afternoon, police said. The accident happened about 3 p.m. along the 8900 block of the boulevard south of Welsh Road, police said. No details were immediately available. - Susan Snyder

City and state officials yesterday announced a vehicle and pedestrian safety plan for Roosevelt Boulevard, on which 55 people have been killed in traffic accidents over the last five years. Mayor Nutter was joined by Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D., Phila.) and others in a City Hall news conference as they outlined the plan for the 12-lane roadway. Nutter, describing the boulevard as "one of the most hazardous roads in America," praised Schwartz for securing $3.2 million in federal money for the plan.

Concerned about frequent reports of cars hitting trees and other fixed objects along Roosevelt Boulevard, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has named an engineering firm to study the problem and make safety recommendations. Chosen recently from three firms that had expressed an interest in the project was Buchart Horn Inc. of York, Pa. The project, part of Gov. Casey's efforts to improve traffic safety on Pennsylvania highways, was authorized earlier this year.

A 22-year man was killed early Saturday in Northeast Philadelphia when his car struck a light pole at the intersection of Roosevelt Boulevard and Holme Avenue and split in half. Police identified the victim of the 12:30 a.m. accident as Rasheed Blaknight of the 2200 block of West Yelland Street. An unidentified passenger in the car, also 22, was taken to Aria Health-Torresdale hospital in critical condition. - Harold Brubaker

The ghost of Teddy "Rough Rider" Roosevelt is alive and behind the wheel on the Northeast Philadelphia roadway that carries his name. In a city where aggressive driving and lax traffic law enforcement have made driving hell on wheels most everywhere in Philadelphia, the roughest ride of all is on Roosevelt Boulevard. That detail and countless others emerge from a first-ever public examination of crash data in which the Daily News sorted through computerized Philadelphia Police Department records to determine the locations of more than 120,000 serious crashes throughout the city that occurred from 1991 to 1996.

An 18-year-old Rhawnhurst man was charged yesterday with leaving the scene of an accident in which a 13-year-old girl was fatally injured Sunday night while crossing Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia. The driver of the car that struck Monaye Morris-Reveron of Olney fled after the 11:30 p.m. accident, police said. According to authorities, Patrick Dooner, of the 1800 block of Chandler Street, was arrested at his home about an hour after the accident. Dooner was in custody pending arraignment.

It was supposed to be a fun summer outing, a pre-college last hurrah, for the 15 friends who packed into three cars and spent Sunday at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J. But their ride home ended tragically when one of their vehicles was involved in a crash with a sport-utility vehicle on Roosevelt Boulevard, killing two of the teenagers - aspiring chef Patrice Jackson, 18, and West Philadelphia High sophomore Brandon Ruff, 16. ...

Here for the holidays, Christmas trees are at Gaudios, Roosevelt Boulevard and Robbins Street. On Nov. 22, yard manager Bill Wlodarczyk was lining them up.

Police were investigating a Thursday evening bank robbery of a TD Bank on Woodhaven Road near Knights Road in Northeast Philadelphia. About 6 p.m., a man wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans presented a note to a teller demanding money, police said. The man made off with $810. Police suspect that the man, described as about five feet tall and weighing about 160 pounds, was involved in the Monday robbery of another TD Bank a few miles away, on Grant Avenue near Roosevelt Boulevard.

A 22-year man was killed early Saturday in Northeast Philadelphia when his car struck a light pole at the intersection of Roosevelt Boulevard and Holme Avenue and split in half. Police identified the victim of the 12:30 a.m. accident as Rasheed Blaknight of the 2200 block of West Yelland Street. An unidentified passenger in the car, also 22, was taken to Aria Health-Torresdale hospital in critical condition. - Harold Brubaker

A 22-year man was killed early Saturday morning in Northeast Philadelphia when his car struck a light pole at the intersection of Roosevelt Boulevard and Holme Avenue and split in half. Police identified the victim of the 12:30 a.m. accident as Rasheed Blaknight of the 2200 block of W. Yelland St. An unidentified passenger in the car, also 22, was taken to Aria Health - Torresdale hospital in critical condition. - Harold Brubaker

A 30-year-old man was killed early Sunday when he lost control of his pickup truck while speeding on Roosevelt Boulevard near Bridge Street, police said. The man was driving north at 3:14 a.m. when he lost control of the truck, which flipped several times. He was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at Einstein Medical Center at 3:39 a.m. Police had not released the man's identity. - Nancy Phillips  

One person was killed in an accident on Roosevelt Boulevard Sunday afternoon, police said. The accident happened about 3 p.m. along the 8900 block of the boulevard south of Welsh Road, police said. No details were immediately available. - Susan Snyder

A 9-year-old boy was in critical condition after crashing a Chevrolet Malibu into a tree and flipping it in the northbound outer lane of Roosevelt Boulevard at Rhawn Street on Sunday morning, police said. The boy was taken to St. Christopher's Hospital after the accident, which happened about 9:30 a.m. No one else was injured. Police were working to find out where the child's parents were at the time and how far he drove. The accident was the second in four months involving an underage driver in Northeast Philadelphia.

CROSSING the 12 lanes of Roosevelt Boulevard has long been dangerous for pedestrians, often with fatal results. Yesterday, tragedy struck a 44-year-old woman and 4-year-old boy who were merely walking on the sidewalk. Just before 3 p.m., a Toyota Camry was apparently forced off the road by a Ryder truck and veered onto the southbound curb of the Boulevard near Woodward Street, hitting and killing the woman and injuring the boy, who police believe is her son. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:53 p.m. by medics.

A 21-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department has been arrested on charges of lying to police about an arrest he made last March in which he claimed a man assaulted him. Instead, police said Friday, Officer Aleksande Shwarz was the aggressor, and Shwarz himself has been charged with assault for his role in the arrest. Shwarz, 54, has been suspended for 30 days with intent to dismiss, Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said in a statement. Shwarz, who was assigned to the Second District, was arrested Wednesday on charges of simple assault, unsworn falsification to authorities, and abuse of office.

Two men were killed and another injured in a one-car crash in the East Falls section minutes after Philadelphia police ended a pursuit of their vehicle early Sunday, police said. The chase began a few minutes after midnight, when police in a patrol car tried to stop a 2001 Buick at Rising Sun Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard in the Feltonville section. The Buick sped off with police in pursuit. Police said that during the brief chase, officers saw a gun thrown from the car. The officers stopped the chase a short time later after superiors told them to. Several minutes later, the Buick was found crashed and partially burned in the 3500 block of School House Lane.