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How Philadelphia is preparing to keep folks safe after Super Bowl LIX
Philadelphia Eagles fans go hard for a Birds win, therefore the city is preparing for another wild celebration ahead Super Bowl LIX.
PHILADELPHIA - Mayor Cherelle Parker and city leaders held a press conference Thursday to discuss safety measures that Philadelphia will take in preparation of Super Bowl LIX.
The Eagles and Chiefs will meet in the Super Bowl for the second time in the last three years this Sunday in New Orleans with a scheduled kickoff time of 6:30 p.m.
Philadelphia erupted in celebration after the Eagles punched their ticket to the Super Bowl with a decisive win over the Commanders in the NFC Championship game.
What we know:
Mayor Parker, along with Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel and Fire Commissioner Jeffery Thompson, pleaded for fans to celebrate a possible Super Bowl safely.
Parker urged fans not to climb poles or other structures during possible Super Bowl celebrations.
"Don't climb light poles or anything else," Parker said. "Please, Philadelphia, I implore you as your mayor, do not climb light poles or anything else."
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Parker on possible Super Bowl celebrations: 'Don't climb light poles or anything else'
Mayor Cherelle Parker urged fans not to climb light pole or other structures during possible Super Bowl victory celebrations in Philadelphia. This comes after an 18-year-old Temple University student fell to his death after climbing a pole during the NFC Championship celebrations in the city.
Parker warned that climbing or attempting to climb street poles, bus shelters or other structures can "lead to tragedy."
"Just don't climb anything, that's the Golden Rule," Parker said.
The warning comes after an 18-year-old Temple University student was fatally injured when he fell from a street pole during NFC Championship celebrations.
The backstory:
The city is expecting a similar – if not larger – celebration than what unfolded two Sundays ago when the Eagles beat the Commanders to advance to the Super Bowl.
"We will have all hands on deck on Sunday," said Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, who added that there will be several street closures along Broad Street.
Thousands of fans flooded Broad Street for several blocks to celebrate the win and revel in the Eagles' second trip to the Super Bowl in three years.
While the celebrations remained mostly joyous, there were some isolated incidents of violence and over 30 arrests reported throughout the city that night.
Eagles fan dies after falling from street pole
An 18-year-old Temple University student died after he climbed a street pole during the celebrations and fell on his head.
Tyler Sabapathy, 18, was recorded falling from a pole on 15th and Market streets when thousands of fans took to the street to celebrate the Eagles Super Bowl berth.
Sabapathy, a Toronto native and a member of Temple's club gymnastics team, was brought to the hospital in "very critical" condition and died on Tuesday afternoon.
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Friends of Temple student killed falling from pole share their grief
18-year-old Tyler Sabapathy died after he fell from a pole in Center City while celebrating the Eagles win. His devastated friends shared their grief, expressing what a good man he was.
Video of the deadly fall shows Sabapathy sliding down the pole and striking two street signs as he plummeted towards the sidewalk, falling on his head.
In the wake of Sabapathy's death, the city released a statement in which they continued to urge fans not to scale poles or other structures during victory celebrations.
"We will continue to urge everyone to celebrate responsibly, and we will continue to enforce the law to keep all Philadelphians safe," they said.
Driver strikes fans crowded on street
Police reported that eight people were hurt when a driver, later identified as 26-year-old Rebekah DeShields, drove through a crowd of fans in the street.
DeShields was allegedly behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz GLA250 when police say she struck multiple people on the 1400 Spring Garden Street.
Injuries ranged from minor pain to fractures.
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Video shows moments after driver plows into crowd celebrating Eagles Super Bowl berth
Video shows the moments after a driver allegedly struck at least three people who were celebrating in the street after the Eagles won the NFC Championship.
"All of a sudden the car decided to speed up, and traffic was stopped completely on this side, so nothing was moving inches, so when he had a chance to speed up and go full force into people, he did, he didn't care about anyone that was in his way," the witness said.
DeShields, a Narbeth resident, was charged with several crimes, including, Aggravated Assault, Driving without a License, Simple Assault, and Reckless Driving.
What's next:
Super Bowl LIX will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. but FOX 29 will have coverage throughout the day to get you ready for the big game, including an extra hour of Good Day Weekend streaming only on FOX LOCAL at 9 a.m.
What time does Super Bowl LIX start? Here's how to watch on FOX
The Eagles and Chiefs will meet in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years and FOX 29 is the only place to catch all the action from New Orleans!
Good Day Weekend: 7 a.m.-10 a.m.
- 9 a.m. hour available only on the free FOX LOCAL app.
FOX 29 Game Day: 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Road to the Super Bowl: 11 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
The Madden Cruiser: Bayou with Bill Belichick: 12 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.
FOX Super Bowl LIX Pregame Show: 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Super Bowl LIX: 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
FOX Super Bowl Postgame Show: 10 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.