Delaware State Police have charged an 18-year-old probationer in a hit-and-run crash involving a stolen car that left two children seriously injured.
Authorities said William T. Ackridge Jr. of Newark was taken into custody Monday and charged with three counts of misdemeanor vehicular assault, reckless driving, leaving the scene of a collision resulting in injury and traffic offenses. He was released after posting $4,104 secured bond.
Officials said troopers were able to identify Ackridge as the driver of a Toyota Corolla that had been reported stolen in New Castle County after receiving information from Probation and Parole officers regarding his location at the time of Sunday’s crash through his GPS ankle monitor. Details on his previous offense were not immediately available.
Authorities also said video footage from a state police aviation unit captured Ackridge exiting the driver’s side of the Corolla after it ran a red light in Milford and plowed into an SUV carrying members of a Reading, Pennsylvania, family who were coming home from a beach trip.
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Authorities said Ackridge and two other males got out of the Corolla and ran. Police are still searching for the two passengers.
A 10-year-old boy and 6-year-old boy who were riding in the rear passenger seat of the SUV were flown to A.I. duPont hospital in Wilmington. The 10-year-old was initially listed in critical condition and the 6-year-old in serious condition. State police said Tuesday that the boys’ conditions have improved and that they are expected to be released from the hospital in a few days. A 1-year-old girl who was also riding in the SUV was treated for minor injuries.
Police said the stolen Corolla was traveling northbound on U.S. 113 from the Ocean City, Maryland, area prior to the crash at an extremely high rate of speed and was the subject of several 911 calls.
