Update 1:40 p.m. EST Dec. 2: The crash happened around 1:45 a.m. when a 2014 Audi A4 crossed a median and a left-turn lane in the 600 block of Packer Avenue to hit a 2015 Acura RDX head-on, police Capt. Mark Overwise said.
“Why he did that, we don’t know,” Overwise said Wednesday at a news conference. “I mean, you could suspect that he passed out as a result of the wounds he had -- we don’t know.”
Police found the driver of the Audi, identified as 29-year-old Keith Campbell, of Delaware, with several stab wounds after the crash. It was not immediately clear when he was stabbed, Overwise said, though police recovered a knife on the floor near the driver’s seat of the Audi after the crash.
“There was no one else in the vehicle at that time, so the supposition would be that he stabbed himself,” Overwise said.
Three of the four people in the Acura that Campbell’s vehicle struck were killed in the crash, authorities said. Overwise identified the victims as 36-year-old Joseph Ferry, of Philadelphia; 35-year-old Kelly Wiseley, of Glenolden; and 31-year-old Dennis Palandro, of Morton, Pennsylvania.
Ferry and Palandro were members of the South Philadelphia String Band, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The group had come in second in its category Tuesday at the city's Mummers Parade.
Also in the SUV was Palandro’s 30-year-old wife, who was taken to a hospital with a broken pelvis and other injuries, Overwise said.
“(We) expect she’ll be at the hospital for a while,” he said Wednesday at a news conference. “She will survive.”
Campbell remained hospitalized in critical condition on Wednesday afternoon. Overwise said authorities planned to charge him with four counts of accidents involving death or serious bodily injury.
Police continue to investigate.
Original report: According to WPVI, the head-on collision occurred just before 2 a.m. Wednesday when an Audi sedan crossed into oncoming traffic on Packer Avenue, striking the SUV, authorities said.
3 people dead after horrific head on crash in South Philly. It happened at 1:45 am near 7th and Packer Ave. One of the victims who died was ejected from the car. 2 additional victims are critical. Police on scene investigating. Traffic being diverted as Packer is closed @6abc pic.twitter.com/UNwfXJSUvE
— Jeannette Reyes (@6abcJeannette) January 2, 2019
Three people inside the SUV were killed, police said. Authorities said a woman inside the SUV and the sedan's driver, who police say had at least 10 stab wounds, survived and were taken to the hospital, WCAU reported.
Police also found a bloody 10-inch knife in the sedan, WPVI reported.
Police are still investigating the stabbing and wreck.
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