Three killed in fiery Delco crash while fleeing state police after alleged Lululemon theft, sources say

Three people being chased by Pennsylvania State Police in connection with a retail theft died in a fiery crash in Boothwyn on Wednesday after the driver, speeding away from troopers, lost control of the car, according to law enforcement sources.

The crash was reported just before 2 p.m. on Route 322 near Chichester Avenue as a red Ford Taurus was fleeing the troopers, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation. The car was speeding and being driven erratically during the chase, which the sources said was in connection with a reported theft at a Lululemon store in nearby Concord Township.

At some point during the chase, the driver of the vehicle lost control and crashed, the sources said, trapping the occupants inside the car, which caught fire. Fire crews reported to the scene to try to extinguish the blaze and rescue those inside, but three people in the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene.

Another person was taken to Crozer Chester Medical Center; that person’s condition was not known.

A spokesperson for Troop K, the local state police barracks, did not immediately return a request for comment, nor did a spokesperson for Lululemon.

This was at least the second car chase state troopers have initiated in connection with a retail theft since February, and came as national policing groups have sought to reduce the number of fatal crashes by urging agencies to pursue cars only in cases where the driver is accused of the most serious crimes.

Wednesday’s pursuit closely resembled a car chase by troopers on Feb. 12, after four people allegedly stole $5,000 worth of merchandise from the same Lululemon store.

The group, all from Philadelphia, “grabbed handfuls of clothing from the racks” inside the store and fled without paying, according to the affidavit of probable cause for their arrests.

Employees inside the store saw the four pull away in a gray Subaru Legacy, which was spotted not long after on Route 322 by troopers who attempted to pull over the car.

The driver refused to stop and sped away, weaving in and out of traffic and driving onto the shoulder of the road, the affidavit said. Pursuing troopers were able to stop the car on I-95 near Philadelphia International Airport after deliberately striking the vehicle with their own, bringing it to a stop. No one was hurt.

The four suspects were charged with retail theft, receiving stolen property and related crimes. The driver was also charged with reckless endangerment and fleeing or eluding a law enforcement officer. The case is pending.

There is no national standard for when a police chase is allowed, according to the Police Executive Research Forum, a national think tank on policing standards. Police chases should be rare, according to a 2023 report from the forum, and the danger to the suspects, police, and larger community should be weighed against the immediate need to take someone into custody.

The Philadelphia Police Department, for example, has strict rules, including requiring an officer to have probable cause that the suspect possesses a deadly weapon or has committed or attempted a felony involving force, like murder, rape, or kidnapping.

The standards for Pennsylvania State Police vehicle pursuits were not immediately clear. But data from the agency shows that troopers initiate chases for a variety of reasons, including for traffic violations and misdemeanor offenses.

About 31% of the nearly 750 car chases initiated by state police this year have resulted in a crash, according to the agency’s website. As a result, 101 people have been injured, and five have died in addition to Wednesday’s fatalities, according to the data.

Last year, 16 people died in chase-related crashes involving state police, the data show — the most since at least 2015, the last year the data was publicly available.

State police reported that more than half of all car pursuits so far this year were initiated because of a traffic offense, and about 12% were because of a suspected DUI. Less than 12% were the result of someone suspected of a felony, according to the data.