Family of teen shot by State Trooper marks 1st anniversary of death – NBC10 Philadelphia

It's been a year and a Delaware County family continues to search for answers in the shooting death of their teenage son.

Anthony Allegrini Jr., 18, was shot and killed by a Pennsylvania State Trooper during a drive-by on Interstate 95 near Penn's Landing in 2023.

Tuesday night, his family honored his life by demanding charges.

His name was on shirts and signs in the gathered crowd.

“The pain is still there. The sadness is still there. You don't get better. You don't get over it. It's just another day of hell,” said his father, Anthony Allegrini Sr.

His family gathered in Essington thinking about the morning hours of June 4, 2023.

Their son was at a car meet where investigators say drivers were blocking traffic, doing donuts and drag racing on the highway.

They say two state troopers approached Allegrini's car and instead of stopping, they told NBC10 the teen hit them.

“It’s too hard, every day it gets worse,” said his mother Jennifer Allegrini.

His family filed a $50 million federal civil suit. They claim State Trooper Robert Sobeck Jr. murdered Allegrini Jr. when he shot him through the windshield while he was driving.

“This is a heinous act of murder. We continue to fight the civil rights issue,” said the family's attorney, Joseph Oxman.

The Allegrini's filed suit for their late son Anthony Allegrini Jr., as well as Giovanni Patete, Vincent Tribuiani and William Soper who were all in the vehicle with Allegrini the night of the incident.

The federal lawsuit says the trooper used excessive force on Anthony Allegrini Jr. and never attempted to save his life as he lay bleeding on the ground.

His lawyer says he posed no danger to anyone that morning.

Listening to a song chosen by her mother, it was difficult for her family to hold back tears.

While they talked about the happy-go-lucky kid who liked to joke, they demanded the truth as well as accountability and charges against the police officer.

State police told NBC10 there are currently no criminal cases and due to the lawsuit they cannot comment.

The family says they are still dealing with a nightmare that won't go away.

Allegrini shot, killed by a soldier

Around 3:30 a.m. on Interstate 95 South at Chestnut Street in Philadelphia on June 4, 2023, Allegrini was driving his car with Patete, Tribuiani and Soper, according to the suit.

Allegrini then parked his car on the shoulder of the highway, joining several other cars to watch vehicles on the north side of I-95 perform “laps.” Once parked, the four men got out of the car to look at the “stuff” before getting back in the car and leaving the scene.

As the men got back into the car, State Trooper Sobeck stopped and blocked Allegrini's car with his own vehicle, followed by other troopers and police officers.

The lawsuit alleges that Sobeck climbed on top of Allegrini's vehicle and fired his gun once through the front windshield. Allegrini was struck once in the chest while sitting in the driver's seat of his car.

Sobeck then yelled at the four men in the car, telling them to get out of the vehicle. Once they got out of the car, the officer told them to get on the ground. Allegrini collapsed to the ground due to his injury.

The suit accuses the troopers and officers of failing to provide medical care to Allegrini despite his request for help.

According to the lawsuit, Sobeck, state troopers and police officers blocked Philadelphia Fire Department medics from getting to Allegrini to help him as he bled from his gunshot wound.

Patete, Tribuiani and Soper were illegally handcuffed, according to the complaint. Patete was able to get away, but Tribuiani and Soper were taken to the state police barracks where they were questioned and detained for several hours before being released.

When state troopers arrived on scene, they said they found several vehicles illegally blocking the road with drag racing drivers, doing “burnouts” and “drifting” while a crowd of Spectators looked outside their cars, investigators said. Officials said similar incidents were also reported earlier.

Police attempted to stop one of the drivers, later identified as Anthony Allegrini Jr., 18, of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. Allegrini allegedly did not give in and hit two of the soldiers with his car. One of the officers then pulled out his service weapon and opened fire, shooting through the car's windshield and hitting Allegrini at least once. Allegrini was pronounced dead at the scene by medics.

The two police officers affected suffered minor leg injuries, according to investigators.

“Due to the ongoing investigation and the status of the litigation, we cannot comment,” a Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson said in a statement to NBC10.