Police release videos of vehicles sought in two hit-and-runs in Northeast Philadelphia

Police on Friday released surveillance video of a white or silver Chevy Uplander and the man driving it who they say fatally struck a 60-year-old woman in Northeast Philadelphia during a hit-and-run earlier this month.

Saixiang Lin, a grandmother who came to the United States from China, was walking at Summerdale Avenue and St. Vincent Street in the Castor Gardens neighborhood about 5:50 a.m. Nov. 10 when she was struck by a minivan, police said. She was pronounced dead early the next day at Jefferson Torresdale Hospital.

Shortly after the crash, surveillance video from the area showed the vehicle parking at Tyson and Algon Avenues, a few blocks from the crash scene. The driver got out of the minivan, then returned to the vehicle about 20 minutes later, about 6:20 a.m. He was described as wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt, dark pants, and work boots.

“Somebody should recognize that car or driver as their friend or neighbor and give us a call as a tip,” Police Capt. Mark Overwise of the Accident Investigation District said Friday.

The city has seen a steep increase in fatal traffic accidents this year.

“This alarming spike in traffic deaths comes at a time when there are fewer cars on the road due to the pandemic response, which has encouraged speeding and aggressive driving,” Mayor Jim Kenney said a week ago in unveiling the city’s Vision Zero Action Plan 2025 with the goal of zero traffic deaths by 2030.

The Vision Zero report shows that the number of fatal crashes in the city soared during the pandemic months, with 84 fatal crashes from May through October this year, compared to 40 for the same period last year. This year, there were 24 fatal crashes in July, the highest number of traffic fatalities in a single month since the city committed to Vision Zero four years ago, the report says.

Police on Friday also announced that they are looking for a black Chevy Suburban SUV that struck and critically injured a 63-year-old man who was riding a bicycle about 10:40 a.m. Oct. 24 on the 12000 block of McNulty Road in Northeast Philadelphia. The SUV continued west on McNulty without stopping, as seen in a video posted on the Police Department’s YouTube channel.

There is likely damage to the front grille and hood of the SUV, and small parts from the front of the vehicle were recovered at the scene, police said. The victim was taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital in critical condition with severe injuries, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police Accident Investigation District at 215-685-3180 or 215-685-3181.