Officials say two individuals in an overdue U-Haul truck were evading police authorities in Newark, Delaware, on Tuesday, resulting in the death of a University of Delaware student and the injuries of eight others.
All of this started at 4:30 p.m. on April 29 when police discovered a U-Haul truck that the firm had reported after it wasn’t returned by the deadline of March 18, according to the police.
According to police, the officers tried to arrest two persons inside the U-Haul that was parked in a lot on the 200 block of East Main Street.
Officials say the motorist ran out of the parking lot, ran over a curb, and collided with a marked Newark police car. According to reports, the police did not pursue the truck when it was escaping, but the suspects inside the vehicle disregarded their orders.
Five minutes later, the vehicle struck two people standing next to a parked car on East Main Street while it was travelling west at high speed, according to the police. After colliding with a number of parked cars, the truck broke down.
When officers arrived on the site, they attempted to save the life of one of the pedestrian victims, but the victim passed away from their wounds, according to authorities. The University of Delaware later recognised them as a student.
According to officials, the other individual struck by the truck was seriously hurt and was transported by paramedics to a nearby hospital.
The authorities claimed to have located the U-Haul truck that had broken down and taken the driver and passenger into custody. The driver suffered severe injuries and was transported to a local hospital.
Three additional individuals were sent to a neighbouring hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, according to Aetna Hose, Hook and Ladder Company. Three additional persons were injured, but they refused medical attention because their wounds were not serious.
“We realized those screaming weren’t people having fun, it was people in fear. All we heard was car crashing and a bunch of noise,” University of Delaware student Victoria Dellano said.
East Main Street was stopped for hours on Tuesday night near South Chapel Street while the Newark Police Department Traffic Unit looked into the incident.
Around 6 p.m., SkyForce10 flew over the area, where a black barricade was visible obstructing a portion of the sidewalk and road.
A U-Haul-branded van and multiple other vehicles seem to have been involved in the collision.
As this was happening, one witness claimed to have heard several loud fringe.
According to the University of Delaware’s statement, there isn’t a current threat to the community or the services that students can use together.
Although they have not been provided with detailed specifics about what transpired, University of Delaware students tell NBC10 that they have received two warnings from the school alerting them to the incident along Main Street.
At the site of the fatal collision, a memorial had appeared as of early Wednesday morning.
