Why Should Delaware Care?
Main Street in Newark is among the busiest pedestrian corridors in the state. On Tuesday, the University of Delaware announced that a second fatal crash occurred there during the academic school year. The crash has sparked calls for stronger pedestrian protections from the community.
More than 13,000 people have signed a petition calling for speed bumps on Newark’s Main Street following a Tuesday evening car crash in the college town that left a University of Delaware graduate student dead and eight others injured.
The petition created shortly after the crash said it’s “imperative” to improve pedestrian safety on Main Street, which is home to dozens of shops, bars and student housing.
“In the wake of the second fatal accident in the past eight months, we urge that speed bumps are placed on East Main Street in Newark, Delaware,” said the petition, which also referenced an August 2024 crash in which an 18-year-old student died after a motorcyclist fleeing police struck her while she crossed the street.
Late Tuesday night, UD freshman Anna Holcroft draped a bedsheet near the scene of the crash. It was painted red with sentiments she’d seen on YikYak, an app used by students to make anonymous posts for those in the nearby area.
“We are dying,” the bedsheet said. “Future doctors, vets, business owners, artists, therapists, engineers, etc. We deserve to live.”
Early Wednesday afternoon, it still hung on fencing near a construction site, with a small memorial for those in the crash.
Holcroft said she was at home, 30 minutes away, when she first heard about the crash. She rushed back to campus and said she immediately texted her roommate and boyfriend to make sure they were OK.
Following the crash, the university issued a statement offering condolences to students and families. Holcroft believes the message didn’t go far enough, stating it mirrored an alert shared with students after the first fatal crash of the year.
“It’s just terrible because the same exact message went out for the girl that died,” Holcroft said. “You can’t even actually respond and say thoughtful words to us.”
Collin Burnett, a University of Delaware freshman, said he has lived in Newark most of his life. When the crash happened, he said he was at a lacrosse game at Newark High School.
As a resident and a student, Burnett said he’s almost been hit by cars and had friends hit. Burnett said he and a lot of students are devastated by the deaths.
“I think as a community, we all share the same sentiment that we want the City of Newark to do something to keep us safe,” Burnett said.
Does Main Street need speed bumps?
In an interview, Rep. Cyndie Romer (D-Newark) said she first heard about the crash from her daughter, who she said was trying to find her friends and make sure they were OK following the crash.
“Hearing so many kids being involved in one accident was just devastating,” Romer said.
She said a plan to get more speed bumps on Main Street has been in the works since the fatal crash in August. According to Romer, preliminary plans could bring up to 10-15 speed bumps to Main Street.
She added there are debates at the moment about who’s going to fund the speed bumps and finalizing architectural plans, if a plan were approved. Romer said she supports the petition and the students who are signing it.
Additionally, she said she hopes the petition will “escalate” the conversation around speed bumps in Newark.
Newark officials did not respond to a request to comment for this story. But Newark Mayor Travis McDermott said at the press conference Wednesday that the city would hold a meeting with officials from the Delaware Department of Transportation and from the University of Delaware in the “immediate future” to discuss pedestrian safety along Main Street.
“I’m committed to finding and implementing solutions that work for all of the residents, students and visitors,” McDermott said.
Asked about safety on Main Street, Delaware Department of Transportation spokesman C.R. McLeod said in a statement that Newark city officials send recommendations to the state for safety improvements. He also said the city and DelDOT will discuss new improvements soon.
“Sadly, in this situation a driver operating a vehicle recklessly resulted in a horrific tragedy,” McLeod said. “Short of closing the road to vehicles, it is extremely difficult to prevent this type of crash when drivers choose to disregard the rules of the road.”
According to reporting from the News Journal, the state invested $13 million into a rehab of Main Street in 2019, widening sidewalks and constructing “bumpouts.” The bumpouts were built on both sides of the street, adding trees and some bike racks.
The project, funded by the Delaware Department of Transportation, aimed to address potholes on the street and reduce the amount of time pedestrians spent in crosswalks.
Earlier this year, Newark announced the locations of where it may put new speed cameras aimed at addressing unsafe driving and speeding, according to the News Journal.
How did the crash happen?
According to a statement from the Newark Police Department, officers approached a U-Haul truck Tuesday afternoon in a Newark shopping center parking lot that had not been returned after its rental and reported as stolen in March. After officers approached the vehicle and found two people inside, the truck left the parking lot and drove over a curb, hitting a police car, officials reported.
“The suspects disregarded officer commands and exited the parking lot at a high rate of speed,” the department said. “Newark officers did not engage in a vehicle pursuit and remained in the shopping center.”
Five minutes later, the truck sped down East Main Street in Newark, the police said, striking two pedestrians who were standing next to a parked car. The U-Haul then hit several more parked cars before the truck was disabled, according to police.
One of the victims, a university student, died at the scene. Paramedics took the other pedestrian to the hospital with “serious injuries,” the release said. Six other people were treated for non-life threatening and minor injuries.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Newark Police Chief Mark Farrall announced that officers had arrested Gordon Turner, who was later charged with second-degree murder. Police did not file charges against the passenger who was in the U-Haul
José-Luis Riera, the vice president for student life at UD, said at the press conference that the university has heard the student body “cry out” for the city and university to invest in stronger safety features for Main Street.
“We are listening to our community, we’re engaging with our community, and we will be at the table to bring real solutions,” Riera said.
Ethan Grandin contributed to this reporting.
