On Thursday night, a decommissioned SEPTA trolley crashed into a historic home at the corner of Island and Woodland avenues in Southwest Philadelphia.
The accident was caught on camera when the trolly veered off the tracks, collided with an SUV and crashed into the stone facade of the old Blue Bell Inn (sometimes known as a tavern), which has stood on the corner since 1766.
“A SEPTA trolley just drove through my living room,” said Delia King, the woman who cares for the pre-Revolutionary War building.
King and his cat escaped without injury.
There were no passengers aboard the trolley, but a mechanic sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The two people who were traveling in the SUV were also injured. Authorities have not released his status.
“I saw a tram coming backwards down the track,” a witness said.
Transit Police and SEPTA Security System are investigating.
PREVIOUS SEPTA ACCIDENTS
This is the fifth accident involving a SEPTA vehicle in less than a week in the Philadelphia area.
“Any accident is important to us,” said Scott Sauer, SEPTA’s Director of Operations. “The recent spate of incidents worries us. We want to make sure everyone understands that the system is secure.”
A driver was injured after a SEPTA bus jumped a curb and crashed into a wall near 15th and Walnut streets in Center City Tuesday night. There were no passengers on board when the accident occurred.
On Monday, July 24, seven people were injured after two SEPTA trolleys collided in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, according to SEPTA officials.
In another incident, a SEPTA bus crashed into a pole in Philadelphia on Sunday night, SEPTA officials told NBC10. Four people were injured.
A 72-year-old woman was killed and 19 others injured when a SEPTA bus backed into another bus in North Philadelphia on Friday, July 21.
SEPTA shared that 33 collisions occurred between its vehicles from 2020-2022. Passengers were injured in only five of those 33 crashes.
Between January 1, 2023 and July 25, 2023, there were eight crashes between SEPTA vehicles, compared to:
- 9 in 2020, with 2 injuries among bus/tram passengers
- 5 in 2021, no injuries among bus/tram passengers
- 6 in 2022, with one injured among bus or tram passengers
Passengers shared their concerns with NBC10.
“I think they’re shorthanded. I think they need more help. They need to hire more people,” said Elisha Miller of Philadelphia.
“Having an accident in a single day is concerning, so it is very concerning to us,” said Ron Keele, SEPTA’s Chief of Safety. “We are reviewing all of our rules and regulations. We are doing what we call a Safety Stand Down. We are going to talk to all employees about safety. We are reiterating all of the safety standards and operating standards that we have in place.”
SEPTA told NBC10 that it has 1,100 buses each day to serve 300,000 passengers in the Philadelphia area. Officials urge passengers that SEPTA is a safe way to travel and commute.
