A suspected drunken driver hit and killed a 6-year-old boy riding a mini motorbike with his mother's boyfriend in West Philadelphia late Sunday night, Philadelphia police said.
The boy, who family identified as Sekhan Malik, and the 27-year-old driver of the motorbike were riding south along 63rd Street near Callowhill Street when a Jeep SUV traveling north turned into their path around 11:10 p.m., according to chief inspector Scott Small.
Neither wore a helmet, and the bike did not have lights or reflectors, according to investigators.
Malik died about an hour later at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The motorbike driver, who police originally identified as the boy's father, was taken to Lankenau Hospital where he underwent surgery overnight. He lost his left leg, police said.
The 28-year-old driver of the 2014 Jeep Compass was examined at Penn Presbyterian Hospital. He appeared to be intoxicated, Small said.
“He had alcohol smell on his breath. He was staggering when he was standing and he was slurring when he was talking," Small said.
Police found a can and bottle of beer inside the man’s Jeep, he added. The man also had a suspended driver’s license and could face driving under the influence charges pending a toxicology report, according to Capt. Mark Overwise, commanding officer of the accident investigation division.
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The motorbike driver could face child endangerment and reckless endangerment charges, Overwise said.
Sunday's accident marks the first death this year involving a motorbike, which is illegal to operate on city streets. Two people died in 2017, according to police.
"It’s a dangerous thing to drive these things on the street," Overwise added.
