Source: Philadelphia Police/CNN
Two men were denied bail Tuesday and face a string of charges, including second-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery, in a tragic carjacking that took the lives of three children and injured three adults.
The carjacking took place in north Philadelphia last week.
According to police, the suspects were turning a corner at a high speed when a tire blew out, causing the vehicle to crash into a family selling fruit to benefit their church.
All three children were siblings and under the age of 16.
Now 23-year-old Cornelius Crawford and 19-year-old Jonathan Rosa are in police custody.
Crawford was arrested Sunday while Rosa turned himself in and allegedly confessed to the incident, according to CBS Philly.
Rosa’s mother accompanied him during his alleged confession to police.
During a news briefing Monday, Philadelphia Police Capt. James Clark referred to the incident as one of the “most tragic incidents that [investigators] ran across.”
After the tragedy, the entire community worked endlessly to identify the two suspects who fled from the scene on foot.
“… Everyone worked very hard for the last three days – night in and night out,” Clark said. “No one wanted to go home, to make sure that we brought these individuals to justice, and we did that.”
According to USA Today, the suspects are being accused of forcing the owner of the vehicle, a 45-year-old real estate agent, into her SUV before they sexually abused her and sped off in the car.
Credit: Joseph Kaczmarek/ AP
They lost control of the vehicle roughly 15 minutes after the abduction, reports say.
According to police, the victim of the abduction was randomly selected. She is still hospitalized.
Rosa’s attorney, Christopher Warren, said Rosa was distraught by the aftermath of the car crash.
“I just left him” Warren said. “He is in shambles, and he literally cannot erase the image of that poor child coming over the hood of the car. It haunts him like you wouldn’t believe.”
The entire community felt the impact of the deaths, with some neighbors saying it was a challenge to see the family’s garden there with nobody working in it.
CBS Philly reported that the city, which owns part of the lot where the crash occurred, is considering making a permanent memorial for the family there.
