Car Fleeing Robbery Kills 3 Kids, Mom

PHILADELPHIA - A driver who police said was fleeing a motorcycle robbery scene Wednesday night careened onto a city sidewalk, killing three children under the age of 10 as well as one mother.

The crash happened at 7:35 p.m. Wednesday near the corner of 3rd and Annsbury streets in the city's Feltonville section.

The deceased children were identified as 7-year-old Gina Marie Rosario, 11-month-old Remedy Smith, and her 6-year-old cousin, Alliyah Griffen.

On Thursday morning, an Albert Einstein Medical Center spokeswoman said and family confirmed that Latoya Smith -- the 22-year-old woman hit by the car -- also died of her injuries. She is the mother of Remedy, who would have turned 1 on Friday, and Alliyah's aunt.

Authorities have yet to officially release the names of the two men arrested in connection with the case. A news conference has been scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

Slideshow: Annsbury Street Crash Victims

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said Wednesday night that the incident began with two men stealing a motorcycle at gunpoint. One man fled on the motorcycle, and the other fled in a car.

Police spotted the silver Pontiac a few minutes after receiving a report of the motorcycle theft and pursued it for about a mile.

The car jumped the curb with such force it crushed the steps of one of the row houses and became wedged between a house and a pole.

Rosario's mother -- speaking through a grandmother because she's deaf -- told Fox 29 News the car came as she was walking out the door to go to the drug store with her daughter. The 7-year-old ran ahead and was on the steps when she was struck and pinned in the wreckage.

Video: Mom Of 2 Kids Killed In Crash Speaks Out

As Rosario's mother tried to save her from beneath the car, family members allege the driver pulled a gun on the mother and even tried to get away by reversing before realizing he could not.

"I can't hold up, there's no way to hold up when you find out something like this, but I gotta deal with it," said Ted Canada, the infant's grandfather and the 22-year-old's father, just hours after the crash.

The police commissioner said of the incident, "It's just a tragedy whenever you have someone killed. But three children struck down like this --  standing and enjoying a nice evening and all of the sudden here comes a car barreling down the street ..."

Mayor Michael Nutter called it a horrific scene as well as a tragedy.

"All we can ask is that the citizens of this city pray for these children, pray for these families -- all have been hurt and damaged -- and for the adult female, as well," Nutter said. "It is incomprehensible what some of these people are doing out on the streets of this city, engaged in this kind of action -- senseless."

The car's driver was injured and arrested at the scene, and the motorcycle rider was arrested at his nearby home, where several weapons were found, police said.

Officers were attacked by a dog at the motorcycle rider's home and had to shoot the animal but didn't kill it, said police, who recovered two shotguns and two handguns there.

Police towed away the mangled car, which had back end and roof damage.

On Thursday morning, a lone police cruiser guarded the crash scene and family home, where remainging evidence of the crash included broken glass, heavy marble steps tossed and thrown, as well as the front door hanging off its hinges.

A steady stream of people have been bringing flowers and other items to a memorial in front of the home.

Stay with Fox 29 News and MyFoxPhilly.com for more on this developing news story.