A 31-year-old mother and her 7-year-old son died and her 9-year-old daughter is in critical condition following a two-car crash near New Castle Thursday night in which one car split in half.
Delaware State Police were called to Route 40 at its intersection with Holly Avenue just before 8:30 p.m. for reports of the wreck.
There, they found the two children ejected. The boy died on scene, while the girl was rushed to Christiana Hospital with critical injuries. The woman was also taken to Christiana Hospital, where she died.
According to police, the woman was trying to cross Route 40 onto Shorewind Road when an 18-year-old man, who police said was speeding in his a Dodge Charger, hit the front passenger side of the woman’s Kia.
The impact caused the Kia to split in half, which resulted in the kids being thrown from the car. The boy hit a telephone pole, while the girl was thrown onto a “grassy area,” police said.
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Police said the woman, who was wearing a seatbelt, was not ejected but was fatally injured after the front of the Kia was thrown onto the right shoulder of Route 40. The back landed near a swingset.
The driver of the Dodge, whose car stopped on the south edge of Route 40, was taken to the hospital, where he was listed as “stable,” police said.
Troopers said he was driving “at an apparent high rate of speed” prior to the wreck and that speed played a role in the crash. Police added that they do not believe he was impaired.
Route 40 was closed for about three hours while troopers investigated. Police said they will release the names of the victims once family has been notified.
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