PHILADELPHIA — Samara Banks often called a cab to take her and her four little boys home from family visits on the other side of Roosevelt Boulevard, a 12-lane, cross-town highway that’s notorious in Philadelphia for both drag racing and pedestrian deaths.
But she thought it had cooled down enough Tuesday night to walk the mile back home.
Banks, 28, and her three youngest sons were killed at 10:30 p.m. as they crossed Roosevelt Boulevard at a point with grassy medians dividing the traffic lanes but no crosswalk or traffic light. Her oldest, a 5-year-old, survived with bumps and bruises.
A police spokeswoman said Wednesday night that two men were being charged with four counts each of third-degree murder, homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter. Police say a witness reported drag racing may have been involved.
The speed limit is 40 mph, but drivers frequently go 10 to 20 miles above that, neighbors said. Many residents of the lower-income area don’t have cars and are left to traverse the boulevard on foot to get to schools, parks and stores.
