Jose E. DeJesus Garcia, 53, who investigators said lived in the northwestern area of the city not far from the crash site, was pulled from the car by a nearby resident as the vehicle caught fire following the 8:25 a.m. accident. He died before police arrived.
Within minutes, police vehicles, firetrucks and ambulances filled a one-block area that was strewn with mangled vehicle parts. Firefighters quickly put out the burning car.
City detectives and evidence technicians responded along with patrol officers. The intersection was closed nearly four hours, slowing commuter traffic on other routes.
Several witnesses said DeJesus Garcia, who did not have a driver's license, was southbound on Schuylkill Avenue traveling well above the 25 mph speed limit when he went through a red light, said Sgt. John M. Solecki of the criminal investigations division.
DeJesus Garcia was talking on a cellphone to his stepbrother at the time of the crash, said Jonn M. Hollenbach, assistant chief deputy of the Berks County coroner's office.
The victim's wife and his stepbrother rushed to the crash, said Hollenbach, who spoke to the family members at the scene.
A westbound work van struck the car on the driver's side, and the car struck a mailbox at the southwest corner, Hollenbach said.
The mailbox flew off its base and landed on a car about 50 feet away in a grocery store parking lot, Solecki said. The car also knocked over a light standard before it spun to a stop on Schuylkill Avenue.
The van also spun and ended up on a sidewalk on the southeastern corner of the intersection, with the front against the brick face of a building.
The man driving the van was taken to Reading Hospital for unspecified injuries. His name was unavailable.
DeJesus Garcia was pronounced dead at 9:30 by Deputy Coroner Kay I. Eisenhower. He died of head and neck injuries and the manner of death was ruled accidental, officials said.
A city crossing guard, Dorothy Ortiz, said the crash in front of her usual spot diagonal from where the car hit the mailbox and light pole.
"I just backed up," she said, taking a few steps back for emphasis while clutching her stop sign.
She watched as a man, identified by police as Bradley Rhodes, 43, who lives nearby, pulled DeJesus Garcia from the car before it went up in flames.
Resident Kyra Shedrick, 41, said she was already worried about safety in the 300 block of Schuylkill Avenue before Thursday's crash in front of her home.
She said she brought up her concerns about speeding, among other quality-of-life and safety issues, in a June email to Crystal Edwards, community development specialist for the 6th Ward, after a vehicle hopped a curb and forced a girl on the sidewalk to run out of the way.
Shedrick was told her concerns were forwarded to Police Chief William M. Heim.
"That's like a main street, where a lot of the speeding occurs," Shedrick said of her block. "Unfortunately, there are children that play on the street. There's a playground (Barbey Playground) that is down the street."
Shedrick said she received no response from the city or police officials about any action they planned or had taken. But she said Edwards pointed out that there was a "Children at Play" sign and 25 mph speed limit sign in the block.
"After I contacted her she did inform me of the signs, but we both agreed that no one is really taking those signs seriously," Shedrick said. "Now this fatal accident happened. I'm extremely concerned about this."
Contact Steven Henshaw: 610-371-5028 or shenshaw@readingeagle.com.
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