HOCKESSIN, DELAWARE (12/4/2015) A 55-year-old man seriously injured in a four-vehicle crash on Lancaster Pike on Thursday faces vehicular assault and DUI charges, Delaware State Police said this morning. Two other drivers also were injured.
The accident happened about 6:05 p.m. at the intersection of Ace Memorial Drive, about a quarter mile south of the state line.
Police said Jose Vega, 55, of Hockessin, was driving a 1994 Ford Explorer southbound when it struck the rear of a 2003 Mitsubishi that had just collided with the rear of a stopped 2000 Nissan Altima.
The Mitsubishi was forced into the northbound lane of Lancaster Pike (Route 41), where it was struck by a tractor-trailer.
Vega was treated by New Castle County paramedics and taken by ambulance to Christiana Hospital in Stanton, where he was admitted.
Troopers obtained warrants charging Vega with first-degree vehicular assault, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without an operator’s license and no insurance as well as other traffic offenses. He will be formally charged when he is released from the hospital, police said.
The driver of the Mitsubishi, identified as Jose L. Escobar, 21, of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, also was taken to Christiana Hospital by ambulance with injuries police said were not life-threatening. He was cited by troopers with following too closely.
The driver of the Nissan, identified as Francisco Valadez, 31, of Kennett Square, also was taken to Christiana with injuries police said were not life-threatening.
The driver of the 2015 Volvo tractor and trailer, Dwayne Schuler, 50, of Nottingham, Pennsylvania, was not injured.
Police said Escobar was properly restrained, but seat belt use by the others wasn’t known.
Lancaster Pike was closed in both directions as police investigated and the wreckage was cleared.
Serious crash shuts Lancaster Pike in Hockessin