PHILADELPHIA—State police have opened a driving under the influence investigation following the deaths of two Pennsylvania troopers and a civilian struck by a vehicle on an interstate in Philadelphia early Monday, state police said.
Trooper Martin F. Mack III and Trooper Branden T. Sisca were dispatched after a man was reported walking in the southbound lanes of I-95 near the sports stadiums in south Philadelphia, Capt. James Kemm said. Sisca formerly worked as a Spring Township firefighter and had been serving as Trappe fire chief.
The troopers arrived around 12:45 a.m. Monday and were trying to take the man into custody and walk him back to their vehicle when another vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed struck all three, Kemm said.
"The impact was so great that it threw the troopers over into the northbound lanes of Interstate 95," Kemm said. "The vehicle ended up on the right-side shoulder of the highway, and the driver remained at the scene. Other arriving troopers found witnesses trying to revive the victims, who were pronounced dead at the scene."
Kemm said there is an active investigation into whether the incident was DUI-related. The pedestrian's name is not being released pending notification of his relatives, he added.
Mack, 33, enlisted in November 2014 and has been assigned to the Philadelphia barracks since 2015.
Sisca, 29, enlisted in February of last year and graduated in August.
Prior to becoming a trooper, Sisca spent time working in the Spring Township Fire Department. Chief Colin Hackman confirmed Monday that Sisca was employed there from April 2015 until November 2018, when he left to work at the Upper Providence Fire Department in Delaware County.
Hackman said Sisca began his stint with Spring Township as a career firefighter and EMT. He was promoted to captain in July 2018.
"He was a very engaging person," Hackman said. "He always had a smile on his face, was always upbeat."
Hackman said Sisca spoke often about his dream being to one day become a state trooper.
Sisca was a 2011 graduate of Albright College, where he studied history, sociology and criminology and participated on the lacrosse and rugby teams.
"We are stunned and heartbroken over such a senseless loss and are thinking about each of the victim's families," the college said in an official statement on the deaths.
Col. Robert Evanchick, the state police commissioner, said the troopers made the ultimate sacrifice, braving the dangers of traffic at night on the busy highway to aid someone whose own life was in danger.
"These troopers personified our department's core values of honor, service, integrity, respect, trust, courage and duty," he said. "... They both had bright careers ahead of them, and it saddens me to know how their lives were senselessly cut short."
The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association said both troopers were organ donors and have donated their organs to the Gift of Life Program.
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