Police: Newark woman died in fatal crash caused by tractor-trailer on I-495
Matt MooreA 46-year-old died Monday after a tractor-trailer hit multiple vehicles, halting traffic on I-495 north, according to Delaware State Police.
Police say the crash occurred about 10:53 a.m. just north of Philadelphia Pike, starting with a 33-year-old Elkton, Maryland man driving a tractor-trailer.
Traffic was slowed at the time because a lane was closed further to the north.
As the man headed north in a 2011 Freightliner, police say he failed to slow down in time, striking the rear end of a 2002 Ford Explorer driven by a 39-year-old Wilmington man.
That impact forced the Ford off the right side of the road and into a steel guardrail, where it stopped in the north lanes, police said in a news release.
Yolanda Frank, of Newark, was in the front passenger seat of the Ford, police said.
Both the driver of the Ford and Frank wore seat belts at the time of the crash and were taken to an area hospital, police said.
Police said Frank was pronounced dead at the hospital, while the man was in critical condition.
After hitting the Ford, the tractor-trailer continued north, striking the rear of an Infiniti GX60 driven by a 20-year-old Philadelphia woman, police said.
The Infiniti was then pushed into the rear of a GMC Canyon pickup truck driven by a 63-year-old Havertown, Pennsylvania man, the release said.
The tractor-trailer, Infiniti and GMC all came to a stop in the north lanes of I-495.
Police say the drivers of the tractor-trailer and the GMC both wore seat belts and were not injured.
The driver of the Infiniti was not wearing a seat belt and was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries. police said.
Background:I-495 NB at Philadelphia Pike reopened several hours after fatal crash
I-495 north was closed for about five hours while the scene was investigated and cleared, police said.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact Cpl. J. Aube of the Troop 2 Collision Reconstruction Unit 302-365-8483.
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Contact Matt Moore at (302) 324-2829, mmoore@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @MattKenMoore.