Toddler among several pedestrians killed or injured in Philly over the weekend as safety advocates called for more protections

A tragic stretch of pedestrian deaths and injuries in Philadelphia continued through the weekend when a 22-month-old girl and a man were killed in separate crashes eight hours apart, and three other pedestrians were seriously injured. That came just days after two other pedestrians and a bicyclist were hit by cars, two fatally, in the span of three hours on Wednesday.

On Sunday morning, safety advocates gathered in Center City to mourn traffic victims and call for more protections.

In the most recent deadly pedestrian crash, a man whose name and age police had not determined was found unresponsive lying in the southbound lanes of the 4200 block of Aramingo Avenue in Frankford just after 5 a.m. Sunday in what police are calling a hit-and-run. He was pronounced dead at the scene and police said his injuries were consistent with being struck by a car.

A search for that vehicle was continuing.

The crash resulting in the child’s death occurred around 8:50 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of North Front Street and East Wyoming Avenue in the city’s Feltonville section, police said.

According to police, a Dodge Ram 1500 Classic driven by a 28-year-old man was eastbound on Wyoming and attempted a left turn northbound on Front with a green light. A 31-year-old woman was crossing westbound on Wyoming in a marked crosswalk with a green light with her 13-year-old daughter and a 22-month-old girl in a stroller whom police originally had said was a 1-year-old. The Dodge hit all three of them.

The toddler was taken by medics to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, where she was pronounced dead at 9:32 p.m., police said.

The mother and teenager were taken to Einstein Medical Center for treatment of injuries to their feet and ankles, police said.

The driver remained at the scene. No arrest had been made and charges were pending further investigation, police said.

Shortly before that crash, a person police only described as a “male pedestrian” attempting to cross the 1300 block of Rising Sun Avenue in North Philadelphia was struck around 8:45 p.m. by a Nissan Altima traveling westbound. Police said the man was transported to Temple University Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition with a head injury Sunday.

The driver of the Altima, Vincent Dennis, 60, remained at the scene and was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, police said.

Three hours after the deadly crash in Frankford Sunday morning, a vigil for traffic victims began on Spruce Street in Center City where Barbara Friedes, 30, a pediatric oncologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, was killed Wednesday night while biking home. Friedes was riding westbound in the bike lane on Spruce when she was struck from behind by a speeding car on the 1800 block around 7 p.m., police said.

She was thrown more than 20 feet into the air, police said, and although wearing a helmet, Friedes suffered severe head injuries and died at a hospital shortly upon arrival. The 68-year-old driver of the blue Volkswagen that hit her was hospitalized from injuries related to the crash, said police, who have not yet released his name because he has not been charged with any crimes. Police said they are awaiting results of tests to determine whether he was intoxicated at the time of the crash.

Police have charged two drivers in two other crashes Wednesday. In the first, a hit-and-run on the 5800 block of Chew Avenue in East Germantown, 40-year-old Sekia Spencer struck a 26-year-old woman crossing the street with her car around 4:30 p.m. and then fled the scene, police said. The victim flew onto the windshield of Spencer’s car before falling into the street. She was hospitalized in critical condition.

Spencer has been charged with aggravated assault while driving under the influence, causing an accident involving death or injury, and other offenses, and remained in custody on $175,000 bail.

And just minutes after Friedes was struck on her bicycle, 38-year-old Christopher Cabrera was struck and killed as he stood on the corner of Frankford and East Allegheny Avenues in Kensington, waiting to cross the street. Police said a Toyota operated by Christopher Sorensen, 41, drove through the intersection at a high rate of speed, veered onto the curb and struck Cabrera head on before crashing into a parked car. Cabrera died at the scene.

Sorensen remained hospitalized Friday and has been charged with narcotics offenses in the crash. Police said he is expected to be charged with Cabrera’s death once toxicology results are available and he is released from the hospital.

» READ MORE: Better bike lanes could have saved Barbara Friedes, advocates say

The vigil Sunday, organized by advocacy groups Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Philly Bike Action and 5th Square, drew a few hundred participants who lined the bike lane along the south side of Spruce Street from around 18th to 20th Streets. Speakers called for more protections on Philadelphia’s streets.

Friedes’ parents, John and Mary Dietrick, also were in attendance. Mary Dietrick offered a poignant remembrance:

Just a week earlier, also on a Sunday morning, her daughter rode past a similar gathering of biking advocates on her way to work and rang a bell in support of them.

Staff photographer David Maialetti contributed to this article.