A speeding motorcyclist fleeing from the police struck five pedestrians on Main Street, killing a University of Delaware freshman just hours after classes began for the semester.
“Incidents such as this are unimaginably tragic,” UD President Dennis Assanis wrote in a letter to students. “We cannot express enough how sorry we are for the family, friends, and greater community as we are all so deeply shaken by the sudden loss of one of our own. Our hearts are very heavy today.”
The crash happened at 11:53 p.m. Tuesday after a University of Delaware Police Department officer attempted to stop a sportbike-style motorcycle for a traffic offense near South Chapel Street, according to Lt. Andrew Rubin, a spokesman for the Newark Police Department.
“The motorcycle disregarded the police officer’s emergency lights and fled at a high rate of speed westbound on East Main Street,” Rubin said. “The University of Delaware police officer did not engage in a pursuit with the motorcycle and extinguished his emergency lights when the motorcycle fled at a high rate of speed.”
The motorcycle struck a pedestrian in the crosswalk in front of the Trabant University Center.
The motorcyclist fell off the bike, which then continued onto the sidewalk and hit four pedestrians and a light pole, Rubin said.
Witnesses attempted lifesaving measures on the pedestrian, but she died at the scene. Police identified her only as an 18-year-old woman from New Jersey.
The four pedestrians on the sidewalk suffered minor injuries, but only one was hospitalized.
The motorcyclist was also hospitalized for non-life-threatening injuries.
No charges have been filed, but the crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Master Cpl. Wayne Aston at 302-366-7100, ext. 3414, or waston@newark.de.us.
Sgt. Joseph Conover, also a spokesman for Newark Police, explained that charges in traffic incidents often take time to finalize. The police department will consult with the attorney general’s office before making any arrests.
“Things just take a little more time because a vehicle’s involved,” Conover said. “There’s going to be determining speed and brakes and lights and everything like that. There’s a whole bunch of extra factors involved when it is a vehicle involved.”
UD will make counseling services available to students affected by the crash.
“Especially in a moment like this, we must all come together, to lean on each other, and to do so with extra kindness and empathy,” Assanis said. “Together, we are stronger, and we must live this truth in the coming days. We are one Blue Hen community.”
Editor’s note: Previously published photos of the crash scene included two motorcycles that were stopped at the scene but not involved in the crash.
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