iradiophilly | News - Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. to Partially Open; West Philly House Fire; New Details in Westville Crash

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Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. to Partially Open; West Philly House Fire; New Details in Westville Crash

by: iradioal - Philadelphia, PA
started: 08/03/21 10:29 pm | updated: 08/03/21 10:29 pm

Philadelphia officials say that not all of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive will re-open to vehicular traffic on Wednesday, 8/4, as announced last month. The MLK bridge that connects the Drive to Eakins Oval at the Art Museum is in need of significant repair. "An inspection to the underside of the MLK bridge found one of the connections of the steel framing to be about 75 percent deteriorated. As a result, we will have to keep the bridge closed to traffic until the rehab construction," Deputy Managing Director for Transportation, Mike Carroll said. "For now, the bridge can stay open and is still safe for pedestrians and bicycles, but no motor vehicles will be able to use the bridge until the full rehabilitation project is complete."

The drive will remain closed south of Sweetbriar Drive. The repair project is expected to be completed by 2024. The remainder of the drive will re-open on Wednesday afternoon at 5 p.m. The entire drive from Falls Bridge to Eakins Oval will be closed on weekends through October for recreation. The roadway has been closed to vehicles since March 2020. Traffic officers will be placed at Landsdowne and Girard near Sweetbriar Drive.

SEE ALSO: MLK Drive Reopens to Cars 8/4

An elderly man and woman were found dead in a house fire in West Philadelphia on Monday evening, 8/2. It happened around 5:25 p.m. on the 5800 block of Chestnut Street. The fire spread to 5 homes. The elderly woman was found in a second floor bedroom and the man was found on the first floor. They were pronounced dead at 7:07 p.m. An 11-year-old boy suffered a cut on his foot and smoke inhalation. A 28-year-old also suffered smoke inhalation. They were both taken to Jefferson University Hospital in stable condition. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Police in New Jersey have released new details about the crash that killed a father, his 2 daughters, and his niece on Saturday night, 7/31. Investigators say that the four victims were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash. 34-year-old George Ritter, his two daughters Alivia and Elsie, ages 9 and 5, and his 8-year-old niece Kenzie Mammoccio were killed in the accident. Westville Police Department say that Ritter was driving them in his 1987 black Ford Mustang. They were on their way home from a child's birthday party when they struck a utility pole on the 1000 block of Gateway Boulevard in Westville. Ritter was ejected from the vehicle. They three girls remained inside.

"The vehicle was modified with specialized tires and engine accessories to include a roll cage to make the vehicle specially designed to race at private racetracks," said police in a statement. Police are determining if speed was a factor. Toxicology reports are pending.

"Cherish every waking moment because I only got eight years of mine, and it's going to be the hardest to deal with for the rest of my life not watching that beautiful angel grow up. And now she truly is my angel," said Brian Mammoccio, Kenzie's father.

SEE ALSO: Father, 3 Young Girls Die in Crash

Sports
Philadelphia 76ers sign a 2-year $6.7 million deal with power forward Georges Niang. Niang played at Utah. They also sign a 1-year deal with big man Andre Drummond. He was previously with the Lakers. Dwight Howard is going back to LA.

19-year-old Athing Mu ((uh-thing moe) won Gold in the Women's 800m track and field final at the Tokyo Olympics. Mu is from Trenton, NJ. She ran 1:55.21. She graduated from Trenton Central High School in 2020 and will be a sophomore at at Texas A&M this upcoming year.

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