UPDATED STORY: Police release name of man killed
ODESSA, DELAWARE (10/3/2015) The driver of an SUV was charged with DUI after he struck and killed a pedestrian on U.S. 13 south of Odessa early today and then fled, Delaware State Police said.
The 43-year-old man who was killed about 2 a.m. was walking in the roadway, also known as South DuPont Parkway, about .7 miles south of Middletown-Odessa Road (Route 299).
He was struck by the front of a 2004 Chevrolet Suburban and thrown into the roadway, police said. The man’s name is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the SUV, identified as Shawn Russell, 40, of Dover, was arrested a short time later by Smyrna police at U.S. 13 and Smyrna-Leipsic Road, state police said.
Troopers charged him with DUI, leaving the scene of a fatal crash, failure to report an accident and no proof of insurance. Arraignment information wasn’t immediately available.
Police said it is unknown if alcohol use on the part of the victim was a contributing factor.
Southbound U.S. 13 south of Route 299 was closed for about 3 hours as the crash was investigated.