It will take a lifetime for Samara Banks’ family to sort through the heartache and grief that they endured after an alleged drag-racing driver struck and killed the young mother and three of her children. The Roosevelt Boulevard accident occurred on July 16, 2014.
Both 23-year-old Khusen “Hass” Akhmedov of Lancaster and 30-year-old Ahmen Holloman of Philadelphia are charged in the July deaths of Samara Banks and three of her four children.
Banks, 28, and children were trying to cross the Roosevelt Boulevard near 2nd Street in the Feltonville section of Philadelphia that fateful Tuesday evening. Banks was making her way across the busy highway with her seven month old, four year old, and five year old when a 2012 Audi driven by Akhemedov hit them. The only survivor was the five year old.
A witness testified that she saw the cars racing just before the crash. The vehicles did stop to help after the crash. Akhmedov and Holloman are charged with four counts of homicide by vehicle, third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. They are also charged with reckless endangerment, aggravated assault, simple assault and aggravated assault by vehicle in the pedestrian accident.
Unfortunately, hearing about a Roosevelt Boulevard accident tragedy is normal if you are from the Philadelphia area. The 12-lane roadway which divides a neighborhood was notorious for crashes that involved pedestrians and continues to be today.
In December, three people were injured in a Roosevelt Boulevard accident that occurred around 2:00 a.m. near Pratt Street in the city’s Frankford section.
On February 16th a Roosevelt Boulevard accident, also in the Frankford section of Philadelphia, left a pedestrian severely injured. The Roosevelt Boulevard accident happened around 1:45 a.m. Police said a man in his 40s was crossing the inner lanes when he was struck by a vehicle travelling north. Medics transported the victim to Temple University Hospital where he was listed in critical condition. On February 18th Police say a driver lost control in Northeast Philadelphia and crashed into a traffic light. The Roosevelt Boulevard accident happened just before 1:30 a.m. on the 4700 block of Roosevelt Boulevard. According to police, a driver lost control of a vehicle, crashed into a traffic light before landing on its side. The driver suffered minor injuries.
On March 11th one person was injured in a crash in the East Falls section of Philadelphia. On March 25th a driver was killed in a Roosevelt Boulevard accident after his vehicle crashed and burst into flames. The victim, 39-year-old Eric Ferrell, was travelling inside a 2011 Mazda at high rate of speed. He lost control, hit the curb, and then struck a tree in the median. The car flipped onto its side and then burst into flames. Ferrell was pronounced dead at the scene.
And on April 19th, two people were sent to the hospital after a multi-vehicle crash on Roosevelt Boulevard. Authorities reported that five vehicles were involved in the crash.
These are just a few of the accidents that have occurred over the past year, leaving many people happy that city officials are taking the steps they need to protect drivers and pedestrians on Roosevelt Boulevard.
On Tuesday the Philadelphia Streets Department announced the construction of a new signalized pedestrian crossing at Roosevelt Boulevard near 2nd street. The new crosswalk is set to open June 27th, almost a year after the Banks family tragedy.
The new pedestrian bridge will be built in the same spot where Saa-yon’s family was killed. We are happy to see that financial cost of safety improvements was not a deterrent in the construction of this crosswalk. We hope the crosswalk will prevent many pedestrian and vehicle tragedies.
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