What to Know
- A 61-year-old man died as a tractor-trailer plowed through slowing cars on Interstate 95 in Delaware Tuesday afternoon.
- The truck driver, two other drivers and a child in one of the SUVs were also hurt.
- The wreck closed southbound I-95 for more than seven hours.
A young girl and a man both died from their injuries while three others were hurt in a multi-vehicle crash involving a tractor trailer that caused an hourslong major backup on Interstate 95 in Newark, Delaware, Tuesday, Delaware State Police said.
The crash happened around 4:45 p.m. in the right southbound lane just north of Delaware Route 72.
Two SUV drivers and a sedan driver were slowing due to congestion when a 39-year-old North Carolina man failed to stop, striking a 2014 Nissan Sentra driven by a 61-year-old Albert Frankel, investigators said.
The force of the crash forced the Middletown man's Nissan across all the southbound lanes before coming to rest in the far left lane, troopers said. Frankel died at the scene.
The big rig kept going, striking a 2015 Honda CRV and a 2008 Toyota Highlander before overturning with its wheels up, police said.
The SUVs wound up down an embankment while the big rig wound up on the center grass median, partially on the left lane of northbound I-95, police said.
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The 49-year-old woman driving the Honda suffered serious injuries and the crash left a 9-year-old girl in her car hospitalized in critical condition, police said. The girl was later pronounced dead shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
The 45-year-old Toyota driver and the truck driver were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, troopers said.
After about 7.5 hours, I-95 finally reopened after midnight, police said.
No charges have been announced.
State police asked anyone with information to call Sgt. D. Alexander of the Troop 2 Collision Reconstruction Unit by calling 302-365-8484 or contact Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333.
