He Was Just Carrying Groceries Home. Seconds Later, He Was Pinned Between Two Vans — And the Driver Just Walked Away
John McDermott was walking home with a bag of groceries. That was it. A normal Saturday night in South Philadelphia — until a white Ford van came barreling down the block and changed everything.
Within seconds, the 75-year-old was trapped between two parked vehicles, crushed by a chain reaction crash he never saw coming. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but didn’t survive. By 11 p.m., he was gone.
And the driver? He got out, looked at McDermott’s body — and walked away.
“I Just Heard Boom — Then I Looked Down and Saw His Legs”
Mike Borda was just a few feet away when it happened. He didn’t see the crash — but he heard it.
“I just heard, boom! Real big, then a second boom,” Borda recalled. “And then I looked down, and it was his legs. And I said, ‘Oh my God, it’s a body!'”
Surveillance footage captured the moment the Ford van lost control and slammed into a parked Chevrolet Express van. The force sent the Chevy crashing into McDermott, pinning him against a Land Rover parked just beside him. Groceries were scattered across the street.
“I seen all the groceries and everything — there were groceries everywhere,” Borda said.
The Driver Tried — Then Left Him to Die
According to police, the driver of the Ford van got out and actually attempted to free McDermott. He couldn’t. So he did the unthinkable — he turned and strolled off down the street, leaving the injured man pinned and bleeding.
“He just looked at the body, he looked like he was in shock — and then he just turned around and just strolled off,” Borda said, shaking his head.
Borda ran to the nearest police station to sound the alarm. When officers arrived, neighbor Denise Gentile rushed out of her home after hearing the sirens.
“It actually looked like a scene from a movie, it was horrific,” she said. “I saw them bringing him on the stretcher into the ambulance.”
A Block Left in Grief — A Family Waiting for Answers
By Sunday afternoon, flowers had quietly appeared at the corner of South 11th Street where McDermott took his last steps. Police officially identified him the same day — John McDermott, 75, a Philadelphia resident.
The Ford van was left at the scene and later towed by police. The driver has not been found.
“I just hope that you can understand how tragic this must be for the victim’s family,” Gentile said, “and that you will just come forward.”
If you have any information about the driver or the vehicle involved, contact Philadelphia Police immediately. The investigation is ongoing.
