Man charged with killing 3-year-old in DUI crash in Brewerytown
Timothy Robinson, 62, allegedly crashed his car into a mother and child, John Johnson, late Monday morning on West Girard Avenue.
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A 62-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated and killing a 3-year-old boy who was on the sidewalk Monday in the city’s Brewerytown neighborhood, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
Timothy Ray Robinson, of Overbrook, was charged with homicide by vehicle while under the influence, involuntary manslaughter, and related offenses for the crash that occurred shortly before 11 a.m. on the 3000 block of West Girard Avenue that caused the death of 3-year-old John Johnson, of Mantua.
Police said Robinson was driving a 2020 black Nissan Rogue west on Girard when the vehicle struck the rear of a 2017 Volkswagen also heading west. The Nissan hit the Volkswagen several more times and the Volkswagen pulled over to the right, police said.
Police said Robinson then sped past the Volkswagen and lost control, causing the Nissan to jump the sidewalk curb, hit the building on the northwest corner of 30th Street and Girard, then spin and flip over onto its roof.
The Nissan landed on the boy and his 27-year-old mother, police said. The mother was able to free herself and she and some bystanders freed the boy. The mother and child were rushed by police to Temple University Hospital, where the boy was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m. His mother was listed in stable condition.
Firefighters used extraction tools to free Robinson, who was transported by medics to Lankenau Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition. Robinson was driving alone in the Nissan, police said.
“My heart is broken for this child, and for the family that now grieves such a terrible loss. Intoxicated driving is never okay, and this tragedy is why,” District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement.
Krasner added: “My office will work to hold Mr. Robinson accountable, but I also want to re-commit to working with our public safety partners in the city to confront traffic violence for the public safety threat that it is. Safe sidewalks and streets for all should be considered baseline amenities in all Philadelphia communities.”