A legally blind Tacony man was struck by a car and killed while walking across Roosevelt Boulevard early Tuesday.
The accident occurred at about 5:50 a.m. at the Welsh Road intersection, according to Officer Jillian Russell, a Philadelphia police spokeswoman.
Joshua Hess, 33, of the 6400 block of Edmund St., was walking in the right, inner northbound lane of the Boulevard when a 2004 Buick struck him.
The driver of the car remained at the scene as police arrived to investigate. Police have not identified him publicly. He has not been charged criminally.
Hess was taken to Aria Health-Torresdale and pronounced dead at 6:18 a.m.
While investigators continued to piece together the details of the accident on Tuesday afternoon, a specific cause remained undetermined.
Relatives of the victim told police he was legally blind. But Hess was in the southern crosswalk, which is controlled by traffic and pedestrian signals with both visual and audio indicators, said Sgt. Albert Gramlich of the accident investigation division.
Also, the street was wet due to heavy rains that morning. Police sources were unsure if precipitation was active at the moment of the crash.
