GEORGETOWN, DELAWARE (11/4/2017) A 48-year-old man was killed in a three-vehicle crash west of Georgetown on Friday, and the driver of one of the vehicles was charged with DUI, the Delaware State Police said.
The crash was reported at 6:13 p.m. on U.S. 9 (County Seat Highway) at Warrington Road.
Police identified the man killed as John H. Scott Jr. of Georgetown, and said he wasn’t wearing a seat belt.
He was westbound driving a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pickup truck when a southbound 2000 Volkswagen Beetle went through the stop sign on Warrington Road.
Scott swerved but the right side of the truck collided with the front of the Beetle, sending the truck into the eastbound lane of U.S. 9.
The Silverado then was struck on the passenger side by a 2013 Dodge Ram 3500 dual wheel pickup truck.
The Beetle came to a stop in the middle of the road, and the driver, Jesser Figueroa, 50, of Georgetown, got out of the car and fled on foot, police said.
He was later located hiding in a ditch by a state police helicopter, and was taken into custody.
Figueroa was charged with second-degree vehicular homicide, second-degree vehicular assault, driving under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle collision, driving without a valid license, failure to report and failure to stop at a stop sign. He was being held at Sussex Correctional Institution near Georgetown in lieu of $18,300 cash bond.
The driver of the Ram pickup, Ruben V. Lourenco, 62, of Ellendale, was taken by ambulance to Beebe Healthcare’s hospital in Lewes and admitted with minor injuries, police said.
Figueroa and Lourenco were both wearing seat belts, police said.
U.S. 9 was closed about 4.5 hours as police investigated and the wreckage was cleared.