Wilmington, DE :Car driver fleeing police dies in crash with school bus on Tuesday, July 14th 2015
A driver pursued after fleeing a traffic stop was killed Tuesday afternoon when his car crashed into a school bus, city police said.The 18-year-old man, from the Newark area, was pronounced dead at the scene, Wilmington Police Department Sgt. Andrea Janvier said.His name is being withheld pending family notification, she said.
The bus driver of the bus was injured, but had no students aboard.The crash was reported at 1:37 p.m. in the 800 block of Delaware Ave., where eastbound lanes remained closed in the area of Adams Street for about 21/2 hours.The incident began when police tried to pull over the man’s 2008 Chevrolet Malibu for erratic driving near South Park Drive and Market Street, Janvier said.The driver maneuvered his car around multiple police cars trying to make the traffic stop, then fled toward 14th and West streets, where it “momentarily left the roadway and struck a berm,” Janvier said.The driver got the vehicle back on the road and kept driving south on West Street to 12th Street, where he then headed west and out of officers’ sight, Janvier said.Moments later, the car hit the school bus at Delaware Avenue and Adams Street, she said.Police who arrived at the scene – along with a doctor who happened to be nearby – tried to give the man first aid until paramedics arrived and took over attempts to save his life, she added.Witness Matthew Ley of Wilmington was standing outside the nearby Capital One building and saw the crash happen.He estimated the Chevrolet Malibu was going about 50 mph, heading toward I-95, when it hopped the median, went airborne and smashed into the school bus. About five police cars came squealing up behind it, he said.Bystanders at the scene said the driver of the school bus was helped out of the vehicle after the crash.The school bus was unoccupied except for the 56-year-old driver, who lives in Newport, Janvier said. Initial reports indicate the bus was from Red Clay Consolidated School District.The bus driver was transported to St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington, where he was treated for an injury to his lower right leg, Janvier said. His condition was not released but he was described as stable.
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Car driver fleeing police dies in crash with school bus