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Philadelphia pedestrian dies after collision with car on North Broad Street

A driver struck and killed a pedestrian on Broad Street in the Francisville neighborhood on Saturday afternoon.

Shortly after 1 p.m., the pedestrian, identified as Visva Varathakumar, 20, of North Philadelphia, was crossing North Broad Street at Fairmount Avenue from the east side to the west side when a 24-year-old woman driving a 2022 Nissan Rogue northbound on Broad Street struck him. Varathakumar landed on the hood of the car and hit his head on the windshield, police said.

Varathakumar was taken to Jefferson University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:13 p.m., police said.

The driver was not identified by the police.

The incident occurred as part of a planned enforcement action that includes installing speed cameras along the entire length of Broad Street to reduce the number of accidents. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker signed a bill in early June that advances that measure and expands on a law that allows the permanent installation of speed cameras on Roosevelt Boulevard.

Since cameras were installed on the boulevard in June 2020, the number of fatalities, serious injuries and pedestrian-involved accidents has dropped sharply, The Inquirer reported last year.

According to PennDot data, 169 people were killed or seriously injured and 465 pedestrians were struck on Broad Street between 2018 and 2022. Speeding was identified as a factor in 165 collisions.

The cameras measure the speed of vehicles and capture images of license plates to penalize violations. The timeline for the system’s installation has not yet been set, but once the cameras are installed, drivers will receive warnings in the mail for the first 60 days. After that period, drivers who are speeding 17 km/h or more will be fined $100.

It was not immediately clear how fast the vehicle was traveling when the accident occurred on Saturday. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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