Family of young man killed by police during car meet-up on I-95 awaiting answers: 'The pain doesn't stop'
PHILADELPHIA - The parents of a young man who was shot and killed by Pennsylvania State Police on Interstate 95 during a chaotic car meet-up earlier this month opened up about the night they lost their son.
Police say 18-year-old Anthony Allegrini Jr. was on I-95 during a car meet-up where vehicles were doing doughnuts and burnouts in the middle of the highway in the early morning hours of June 4.
"It's not what we would have advised him to do, we’ve always tried to instill in him right from wrong," Jennifer Allegrini, Anthony's mother, told FOX 29.
Officers responded to a stretch of highway rear Penn's Landing around 3:30 a.m. to disperse the gathering when they spotted Allegrini's Audi S4 parked in the shoulder of the highway. When state troopers approached the vehicle, investigators claim Allegrini Jr. "failed to yield and struck two state troopers."
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This caused one of the troopers to fire one shot through the front windshield, fatally striking Allegrini Jr, according to police. The two troopers, who authorities say were the only law enforcement present at the time, suffered minor leg injuries.
Allegrini's parents said they were awoken by Anthony's girlfriend, who told them he never returned home Saturday night. They used Anthony's phone's GPS location to rush to I-95, still unaware of the tragedy that unfolded.
"I really just thought that his car was broken down, someone stole his phone, and then we saw that 95 was closed," Jennifer said.
"I jumped over the median and ran up the other side, I met a wall of police officers that wouldn't let me get any closer," Anthony Allegrini Sr. said.
Investigation launched into officer-involved shooting on I-95: 'The truth matters'
Investigators are gathering information on an officer-involved shooting that unfolded on I-95 that claimed the life of 18-year-old Anthony Allegrini Jr. Police say Allegrini and three others piled into a car parked in the shoulder of the highway and struck two approaching state police troopers. That caused an officer to fire one shot, fatally striking Allegrini in the driver's seat.
Allegrini Sr. said he saw tarp next to Anthony's car and began begging police for answers. The family did not receive word that their son had died until three hours later.
The Allegrini family has since questioned investigator's story partly due to a video that circulated on social media purporting to show Anthony alive on the ground next to a state police SUV after the shooting. An officer is allegedly seen in the video pointing his gun at the passerby who was recording from inside their car.
"They did not help my son as he was wailing around on the ground," Jennifer said. "Instead he's waving a gun at people driving by, I just can't fathom seeing someone in need of help and not helping them."
The family, along with their Attorney Enrique Latoison, held a press conference a day after the deadly shooting and called for a complete investigation. During a press conference held at the family's Delaware County home, Latoison described Anthony as a rule follower and a hard worker who was managing multiple jobs.
"I need everyone to know that he is not what they’re saying he is, he would not intentionally hurt anyone, I know it," Jennifer said.