Car accidents under the El on Frankford Avenue in Frankford, Philadelphia, usually come down to what a driver could see and how fast that driver was going. Steel columns hold the tracks up in and beside the travel lanes, and they hide oncoming cars at the moment someone turns. If another driver’s choice behind the wheel hurt you, Pennsylvania law lets you seek money for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
At Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer, our Frankford car accident lawyers handle collisions on the avenue and the side streets feeding into it. We know how a turn under the tracks goes wrong, and how insurers argue about it afterward. This discussion explains where the risk builds along the corridor and what evidence an injured driver should gather.
Frankford, Philadelphia, Traffic Runs Under a Century-Old Elevated Railway
Frankford Avenue was a travel route long before the grid around it was laid out. It follows the colonial King’s Highway line, which is now U.S. Route 13. That is why it crosses the newer rowhouse streets at a slant instead of meeting them square.
The Frankford Elevated opened above that same street in 1922. Residents objected at the time to steel structures planted in the middle of their main thoroughfare. Those supports still carry the tracks over the roadway below.
Vision Zero Philadelphia counts Frankford Avenue among the project corridors on its High Injury Network. The surrounding Lower Northeast planning district averages 10 traffic deaths and 21 serious traffic injuries a year.
Why Do the El Support Columns Hide Other Drivers in Frankford, Philadelphia?
The columns stand in a driver’s line of sight at the worst possible spot. A column near a corner can hide an approaching vehicle for a second or two. A turning driver often spends that same second deciding whether to go.
A driver turning left across the avenue looks through a gap between supports. The gap shifts as the car creeps forward. A vehicle that was in view a moment earlier can drop out of sight behind a column. Buses and delivery vans pulling out from the curb take up more of the lane than drivers expect.
The structure turns from one street onto the other where Frankford Avenue meets Kensington Avenue. Turning without a clear look is still the driver’s decision, and it causes most of these collisions.
What Makes the Five-Way Junction at Arrott Street Risky in Frankford, Philadelphia?
Five legs meet at a single point beneath the tracks. A driver there has more approaches to check than an ordinary corner requires. Several of those legs arrive at an angle rather than square.
Oxford Avenue joins the avenue at the five-way junction at Arrott Street, where three smaller streets feed the same point. A driver entering it judges traffic from several directions at once, with columns standing in the middle of that view.
People crossing on foot move between the same narrowed lanes. That leaves a turning driver one more thing to track. Speed makes it all worse, since a driver moving fast has less time to check each approach.
How Does Low Light Under the Tracks Affect Drivers in Frankford, Philadelphia?
It cuts the distance at which a driver picks up a hazard. The structure blocks the sky over the roadway, so the street below stays dim at midday.
PennDOT counted 13.1 deaths for every 1,000 crashes in Pennsylvania that happened after dark, at dusk, or at dawn in 2024. Daylight crashes came in at 8.4 per 1,000. Those figures match what drivers face under the tracks once the sun drops.
Rain adds to the problem because the shade beneath the structure keeps pavement wet longer than on an open block nearby. A dim lane and a wet one together leave a driver less room to react. Neither condition excuses a crash, although both are good reasons to slow down.
Why Do Cars Strike the El Support Columns in Frankford, Philadelphia?
The supports are placed right at the edge of moving traffic. A car that loses its line has almost no room before it hits one. Those strikes usually start with speed, a late swerve, or a driver whose eyes left the road.
The lanes under the structure are narrower in practice than the paint suggests. Columns take up part of the space beside them. A driver who drifts while reaching for a phone has a foot or two to correct, not a shoulder.
Hitting something solid concentrates the crash forces into one point on the car. Injuries from those strikes tend to be severe. A single-vehicle strike can still involve someone else, if another driver cut into the lane or stopped short and forced the swerve.
What Evidence Helps After a Crash Under the El in Frankford, Philadelphia?
Photographs of the scene carry weight, especially ones taken from where each driver was located. A personal injury claim involving a crash under the tracks often depends on what a driver could actually see.
Include the column nearest the crash, the lane markings, and the damage to both vehicles. Note the time of day and the weather, since both shape how much anyone could see. Storefronts along the corridor sometimes keep cameras aimed at the street, and those recordings can be requested.
The crash report from the Philadelphia Police 15th District records what the responding officer found. Negligence means failing to drive with the care a reasonable person would use, and a claim depends on proving it. Our Frankford car accident lawyers at Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer examine the site of a crash, not just the vehicles, when we build a claim.
Frequently Asked Questions About Crashes Under the El in Frankford, Philadelphia
- Besides the Other Driver, Who Else Could Be Held Responsible for a Frankford Avenue Crash?
Fault can reach past the driver who hit you. When the other car belonged to someone who was not driving it, that owner’s insurance may answer for the crash, and a work or delivery vehicle usually pulls in the driver’s employer as well. In a chain-reaction collision, the fault may be split between two drivers.
- Can I Recover Money if I Was Partly to Blame for the Crash?
Yes, so long as your share of the fault is no larger than the other driver’s. Under a Pennsylvania rule called comparative negligence, being partly at fault does not end a claim, although it does reduce the payment by your own percentage of the blame.
- What Can I Recover After a Crash on Frankford Avenue?
A claim usually covers medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. If the injury keeps you in treatment or out of work for months, those later losses belong in the same claim.
Crash Under the El? Talk to Our Frankford, Philadelphia, Car Accident Lawyers at Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer Today
If a crash under the El on Frankford Avenue left you injured, Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer can look at how it happened. Our Frankford, Philadelphia, car accident lawyers can gather proof of what each driver could see and take on the insurance company over what your injuries have cost you. Call 215-985-0138 or contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. Located in Philadelphia, as well as Cherry Hill and Marlton, NJ, we assist clients throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
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