A man accused of crashing his vehicle into an SUV – killing an Uber passenger and severely injuring the driver – while fleeing sheriff’s deputies is set to be charged with homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault, driving without a license and other crimes.
Though 35-year-old Joseph Cini ran from the scene of the collision, he turned himself in Tuesday after police asked for the public’s help in locating him. He was initially taken to a local hospital for medical treatment and arraigned Thursday, according to court records.
Prosecutors provided more details about the case during a news conference Thursday afternoon at the District Attorney’s Office.
DA Larry Krasner said members of the Sheriff’s Office showed up early Monday morning at Cini’s workplace on the 900 block of N. Watts Street in North Philadelphia to serve an arrest warrant.
Cini was on probation for strangulation and was wanted in connection with that domestic violence matter, according to Assistant DA Bob Wainwright.
As deputies were exiting their vehicles, Cini must have received word and drove out of the parking lot in an attempt to escape, Krasner said. There was no police chase; however, his Nissan Maxima was traveling at high speeds when it collided with the Uber at around 7:20 a.m., several blocks away at 9th Street and Girard Avenue, according to the DA’s Office.
The T-bone crash killed 63-year-old Angela Cooper, who was using the rideshare service. Paramedics took the 51-year-old Uber driver, Stephen Thompson, to Temple University Hospital, police said.
Krasner called Cooper “a remarkable person” who worked for PECO; conducted homeless outreach out of her own pocket; and took care of her aging parents. “She was always sacrificing for others,” he added.
Thompson and his wife, Jenelle, serve as pastors of a Harrowgate-based church, House of Triumph Outreach and Worship Center. The congregation posted on Facebook that Thompson was recovering from eight broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
