New Jersey man arrested after hit-and-run crash kills two teens in Delaware
Both 17-year-old pedestrians sustained fatal injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.
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A Gloucester County man has been arrested and jailed after allegedly fleeing the scene of a crash that killed two teenage pedestrians in Delaware.
Delaware State Police arrested 23-year-old Nizaiah Ellis of Newfield after the fatal hit-and-run early Saturday morning.
The crash happened around 1:10 a.m. Saturday along the southbound lanes of Dupont Parkway, just south of Denny Lynn Drive in Townsend.
According to a preliminary investigation, a 17-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl, both of Townsend, were walking an electric bicycle in or near the left lane of the highway when a southbound Nissan Altima struck them.
State police said the driver of the Nissan initially stopped after the crash but then put the car back in gear and continued southbound, leaving the victims behind.
Both teens suffered fatal injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene. Their names have not been released pending notification of family members.
Troopers later spotted the damaged Nissan continuing southbound on Dupont Parkway near Paddock Road in Smyrna.
They stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as Ellis. Police said the car had extensive front-end damage consistent with the crash. Ellis was taken into custody without incident and transported to state police troop headquarters, where investigators confirmed the Nissan’s involvement.
Southbound Dupont Parkway was closed for about four hours while the Collision Reconstruction Unit investigated and cleared the scene.
Ellis was charged with two counts of leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death and one count of failure to report a collision resulting in death. He was arraigned and committed to the Delaware Department of Correction on a $12,050 secured bond.
