Friends and family are mourning a high school student who was killed in a crash involving a tractor trailer and pickup truck that also injured four other people in Middletown, Delaware Friday night.
Officials at the Salesianum School in Wilmington, Delaware confirmed that one of their students, 17-year-old Tyler Brown, died in the accident.
Brown as well as 17-year-old Kelly Muschiatti, a senior at Salesianum's sister school Padua Academy, were both passengers inside a pickup truck driven by 18-year-old John Kirsch, who also attends Salesianum. Kirsch was driving a 2005 Dodge Dakota eastbound on Strawberry Lane in Middletown around 11:30 p.m. Friday. At the same time a 52-year-old New Jersey man was driving a tractor trailer northbound on US Route 301 Middletown Warwick Road approaching the intersection of Strawberry Lane.
Police say Kirsch tried to cross lanes and pulled directly into the path of the tractor trailer. The front side of the tractor trailer then struck the right passenger side of the Dodge Dakota at the intersection.
The impact caused the tractor trailer to fall over onto its left side while the Dakota spun around.
Brown, Muschiatti and Kirsch all had to be manually extracted from the vehicle by responding firefighters. They were all taken to the Christiana Hospital Trauma Center. Brown later died from his injuries. Kirsch is in serious condition while Muschiatti is in critical condition.
The driver of the tractor trailer as well as his passenger, a 30-year-old Middletown, Delaware woman, also suffered serious injuries. They were both taken to the Christiana Hospital Trauma Center. Officials have not yet revealed their conditions.
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"Let us pray for Kelly, that she may recover from her injuries, and for the Padua community in their own moment of sadness and adversity. And let us pray for John, who will need our love and support more than ever," Salesianum principal Fr. Chris Beretta wrote in a released statement. "These will be difficult days for our school community that will test and challenge every one of us. But our brotherhood is strong and true. And we will walk this journey together."
A Mass for Brown began at 4 p.m. Saturday at Salesianum School.
"It's a horrible loss," said Patrick Wilson, a friend of Brown's. "I don't know how this happened so fast."
Officials continue to investigate the crash.
