The ‘eyes & ears’
become victims

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

When Paul Costello and Tim Rogers were being carted off from the scene of a car wreck outside of a Frankford Avenue bar at 2 a.m. on June 28, a couple of gawkers were heard to mutter, "That’s what you get for drunk driving."
Apparently, those Johnny-come-latelys missed the part when a speeding SUV rammed the rear of Costello’s Chevy Cavalier as the Town Watch patrollers waited at a red light.
The mistaken identity must have been easy to make, as the only remaining traces of the striking vehicle were some bits of glass and other debris strewn on the avenue.
The other motorist took off within seconds of the crash, leaving Costello, Rogers and Costello’s 12-year-old son Shawn in fate’s hands at least until emergency responders arrived.
The elder Costello had been knocked unconscious by the impact and taken a hard blow to the chest — not a good thing for a guy who needs a pacemaker to keep his heart beating as it should.
Rogers ended up a bloody mess, as the impact resulted in cuts to his head and hands, along with a bruised hip and injured shoulder.
The younger Costello, whom the two men had just picked up from a friend’s house where the boy became ill during a sleepover, emerged from the wreck basically OK, although any level of trauma that he suffers is of grave concern, because he was born with spina bifida.
Fortunately for the trio, fate also dealt them plenty of help in the form of witnesses, including many from the nearby SmokeEaters Pub.
Within moments of the accident, bar patrons had called 911 numerous times and helped the victims radio their fellow Town Watch members, who were among the first to arrive at the scene.
One good Samaritan even chased the fleeing SUV on a bicycle and followed it long enough to get a license plate number.
Local fire department medics soon arrived and rushed the injured to Frankford Hospital-Torresdale. The men were both admitted but released later that morning.
Costello’s Cavalier, however, was a total loss.
"It looks like a Pinto now. It has its own hatchback," he joked last week from his Mayfair home. "At least I can sit here and laugh about it now."
The irony of the whole situation, of course, is that Costello and Rogers were specifically trying to help their neighborhood keep a check on drunken drivers when a suspected one came rumbling through their back window.
"We were just going to wrap up patrol in a couple of minutes," Costello said. "At two o’clock, we’re trying to pick out anybody drunk who’s getting into vehicles."
If they see an obvious danger, they’ll note the plate number and description and call police, who may stop the motorist for investigation.
"We’ve been kind of successful at that," said Costello, a disabled postal worker and president of the Forrest Elementary Home and School Association.
The other motorist remained at large as the Times went to press, although police accident investigators were believed to have strong leads in the case.
Costello and Rogers think that the other driver had been drinking because minutes before the crash, they saw his vehicle, a Lincoln Navigator, parked near another bar a couple of blocks away. Also, Rogers and Shawn Costello said, the man pulled alongside their car and asked them if they were all right before fleeing.
"His speech was slurred. I told him, ‘We’re not OK.’ And he took off," said Rogers, a mental health recovery educator for JEVS Human Services.
They all consider themselves fortunate not to have been hurt worse. The crash looked pretty bad.
They were in the left-hand southbound lane of Frankford Avenue at Sheffield Avenue waiting for the light to turn green.
"We were there three or four seconds. All of a sudden, it felt like we got plastered by a freight train," Costello said. "I do remember the hit and saying something about the (Town Watch) radio and looking into the back seat to see my son."
The last part wasn’t hard for him to do as his driver’s seat had collapsed into the back seat and his legs were up around the dashboard. Meanwhile, his car’s trunk had been smashed in and was in the back seat, too.
"It’s a much smaller car now," Costello said.
They continued to move up the street after the hit.
"He was still pushing us," said Rogers, who was in the front passenger’s seat.
"We were heading toward parked cars and I remember grabbing the steering wheel and turning it. When we finally came to a stop, I was checking on Paul and trying to calm Shawn down. When Paul went silent, I thought he was dying."
One of the witnesses soon found the hand-held Town Watch radio lying in the street about a half-block from where the initial impact occurred and helped Rogers call Angel Cianci-Hartman, the Tacony Town Watch president who was also on patrol with other members that night.
Technically, Costello and Rogers are members of the Tacony group, but they patrol a separate neighboring territory. They call themselves the Mayfair-Lower Holmesburg Town Watch.
While Cianci-Hartman called the crash victims’ families, others waved traffic around the scene.
Shawn Costello, an aspiring paramedic who’s had numerous medical procedures to repair his spine, was a big help as he told responding medics all about his dad’s medical condition and medications.
He’d make a good candidate for Town Watch one day. For now, though, Costello and Rogers plan to continue their weekly patrol duties while trying to build their branch of the organization.
Rogers had been with the Tacony group for more than a year when Costello joined last December. Together, they decided to focus their efforts on a previously unpatrolled area north of Cottman Avenue to Rhawn Street and east of Rowland Avenue to the Delaware River.
Tacony Town Watch’s traditional boundaries are from Cottman south to Devereaux Avenue and from Frankford Avenue east to the river.
"I had been wanting to do it for years. (Now) I’m doing it for my daughter, Grace. She’s nineteen months old," said Rogers, who lives in the neighborhood with wife Tricia.
"I do it exactly for the same reason," said Costello. "I want to know which areas my kids can go out and play."
He and wife Cathy also have a 10-year-old son Tyler.
"We’re getting some (new members), but we need more," Costello said.
With Costello out of commission Town Watch-wise because he has no car, Cianci-Hartman and other members are trying to raise money to get him a replacement.
Donations can be sent to Tacony Town Watch Inc., c/o Costello/Rogers Fund, 6938 Hegerman St., Philadelphia, PA 19135. Tacony Town Watch is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.
"Once I get another vehicle, I’m going to be out there patrolling for Town Watch," Costello said.
"Stewing here in anger is not going to help anything." ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com