UPDATED STORY: Suspect arrested in fatal hit-and-run crash involving horse-and-carriage
PEARSONS CORNER, DELAWARE (9/1/2017) A man was killed and his wife critically injured when a car struck the horse-drawn carriage they were using, the Delaware State Police said this morning. The car fled.
The hit-and-run crash happened about 8:05 p.m. Thursday on Halltown Road (Route 8) as the westbound carriage was turning into a Royal Farms store at the intersection with Hartly Road (Route 44).
An eastbound dark, older-style passenger car struck the couple’s carriage and they were ejected into the roadway. The car continued east and may have turned north on Pearsons Corner Road, police said.
The driver of the carriage, Ervin D. Miller, 55, of Hartly, was taken by ambulance to Bayhealth Kent General Hospital in Dover, where he later was pronounced dead. His wife also was taken to the hospital for treatment.
The horse became detached from the carriage and ran to the back of the victims’ home. Police didn’t know if it had suffered any injuries.
Police said the car may have sustained considerable damage to the front bumper, hood, and window.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective W. Killen at 302-698-8451.
Tips also may be submitted anonymously through Delaware Crime Stoppers, which offers rewards, at 800-847-3333 or www.delaware.crimestoppersweb.com.
Route 8 was closed about 3.5 hours as police investigated and the wreckage was cleared.