'Beacon of light': Doctor who worked at CHOP struck, killed while riding in bike lane near Rittenhouse Square (2024)

A pediatric doctor, who was recently named a chief resident at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, was killed while riding her bike in Center City on Wednesday night.

Barbara Friedes is being remembered by colleagues as a "beacon of light."

According to police, the deadly crash happened along the 1800 block of Spruce Street, near Rittenhouse Square at about 7 p.m., on July 17, 2024.

On Thursday morning, the victim was identified by family members and police as the 30-year-old Friedes.

According to police, a driver of a blue 2018 Volkswagen was traveling at a high rate of speed westbound on Spruce Street when they collided with Friedes while she was riding in a designated bike lane.

After hitting Friedes, the Volkswagen continued on to strike a parked 2019 Nissan, a 2018 Toyota and a 2019 Lexus that were all legally parked on the street.

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The driver of the vehicle is 69 years old, police said. He was taken to a nearby hospital after suffering minor injuries. He has not been charged.

Friedes was recently named a chief resident at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

A close family member told NBC10's Siobhan McGirl that Friedes worked in the pediatric program and was just awarded her fellowship to work in oncology starting next year.

Video from nearby shows the driver of the blue car drive into the bike lane on Spruce Street, crossing through 18th Street and almost hit a man who was walking across the roadway.

Friedes was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

"After getting hit on the bike she flew some distance about 20 or more feet. Struck the ground. I believe she suffered some head injuries and trauma," Captain Andrew Disanto of the Philadelphia police said.

Friedes was pronounced at about 7:20 p.m. on Wednesday evening, police officials said.

In a Thursday statement, Dr. Jeanine Ronan, attending physician and the Program Director of the Pediatrics Residency Program at CHOP, said Friedes was a "beacon of light," who was loved by many.

"Barbara was a beacon of light, and given her many talents, skills, and achievements, was selected to be a Chief Resident at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for this academic year," said Ronan in a statement. "She was loved by so many and embodied kindness, strength and a deep compassion for all who crossed her path. This morning, the CHOP community is in mourning following her tragic loss and keeping her family, friends and loved ones in our hearts."

Flowers were left near the intersection Thursday morning in Friedes' memory.

SkyForce10 was over the scene where three sedans could be seen after the crash. One car was up on the sidewalk and appeared to have crashed into the stairs of a home.

A second car had its tail end up on the sidewalk and damage to the trunk was visible.

A third vehicle was on the street and seemingly came to rest facing the opposite direction with the front-end smashed in.

Police said they do not know at this time if the driver had a medical condition or was intoxicated at the time of the crash.

According to Philadelphia Police Department statistics, this is the first reported death of a bicyclist due to a car crash this year.

Last year, 10 bicyclists were killed in car crashes, according to police data.

This map shows the locations of all deadly bike crashes in Philadelphia since 2019:

Since 2019, nearly 30 people have been killed while riding bikes in Philadelphia.

The youngest person was 16 and the oldest was 74. Nearly half of the crashes took place in locations where there are bike lanes.

According to police data, 118 pedestrians, including those on-foot or on a bike or skateboard, were killed by vehicles in Philadelphia last year. The same amount of pedestrians were killed in crashes in 2021 and 2022.

However, pedestrian hit-and-run fatalities reached an all time high in Philadelphia last year.

In a statement, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is calling Friede's death, along with the pedestrian who was killed Wednesday night on Allegheny Avenue both unacceptable and preventable.

"Concrete barriers to the bike lanes on both Spruce and Allegheny would have offered protection from these reckless drivers, and the Bicycle Coalition has repeatedly pressed the city to install such permanent safety infrastructure," the statement read.

The city said that $1.25 million has been allocated to the "Speed Cushion and Traffic Calming Program" as part of the 2025 One Philly Budget. Meanwhile, $1 million is allocated to the VisionZero project.

"Mayor Parker and her administration are strongly supportive of Vision Zero, and consider it an important contribution to the many City programs aimed at increasing pedestrian and cyclist safety," the city said in a statement.

An investigation into the crash that led to Friedes' death, officials said, is ongoing.