Fatal crash: Del. 1 NB reopens after six hours

One man was killed and two others injured in a Friday afternoon crash on Del. 1 that caused miles-long backups.

The crash about 4:15 p.m. closed northbound Del. 1 from U.S. 40 to Del. 273 more than six hours, state police Master Cpl. Gary E. Fournier said. The road opened back up just before 10:30 p.m.

Robert Bloomer, 51, of East Earl, Pennsylvania, was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

The crash occurred at the spot where a ramp connects eastbound U.S. 40 to northbound Del. 1 in Bear, right before the start of Friday evening rush hour.

Juan Manuel Castro-Mendoza, 35 of Newark, was driving a 2001 Lincoln Navigator on the ramp, when he lost control of the SUV and traveled west from the ramp into the northbound right lane of Del. 1, Fournier said.

There, the left side of his vehicle hit the right side of a commercial truck, causing both to spin, he said.

The SUV continued north, stopping on the shoulder, but the truck overturned onto the driver's side, hit a guardrail on the highway's east side and continued to spin before stopping in the right lane, Fournier said.

Bloomer, not properly restrained, was ejected from the truck, he said. His 22-year-old passenger and Castro-Mendoza were treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Christiana Hospital and released, Fournier said.

State police are continuing to investigate the crash.