Police search for Roosevelt Blvd. hit-and-run driver

A Philadelphia teenager died Monday night when she was struck by a hit-and-run driver in an accident that highlights the strange and potentially dangerous light signal timing at Roosevelt Blvd. and Adams Ave.

17-year-old Markalyah Jackson, of the city's Feltonville section, was crossing Adams, southbound, when a light colored minivan traveling northbound on the boulevard, made the soft righthand curve onto Adams and struck her.

At that intersection, pedestrians crossing Adams get the "walk" light just as northbound boulevard traffic gets the green light. Vehicles bearing right onto Adams head right into those pedestrians.

"It's been crazy like that my entire life," said longtime resident Robert Dickert.

Police accident investigators said the minivan driver should have stopped to call 911 and help Jackson.

Captain John Wilczynski visited the accident scene and agreed, the light timing makes Adams and The Boulevard "a tough place to cross."

Wilczynski said the fact that both pedestrians and the traffic heading their way have lights telling them to proceed, "may have caused the crash."

When contacted by FOX 29, a PennDOT spokesman said they will meet with Philadelphia traffic engineers to see if the light timing should be changed.