A
Wilmington man was killed Thursday and four people injured when his car
went out of control on I-495 near Wilmington and landed upside down on
the highway’s opposite side, where it was hit by another car, state
police said.
Wilbert O. Mable, 35, was driving in the
center lane of northbound I-495 at North Du Pont Highway (U.S. 13)
shortly after 7 a.m. when his car swerved for unknown reasons into the
center median, Master Cpl. Jeffrey R. Hale said.
Mable’s
car hit a berm in the median, became airborne and overturned while in
the air, landing on its roof in front of a southbound car driven by
Michelle P. Nichols, 29, of Newark, Hale said.
Mable, who
was trapped in the wreckage of his car, was pronounced dead at the
scene, he said. His body was taken to the state Division of Forensic
Sciences for autopsy.
One person was killed and four people were injured following a crash
Thursday morning on I-495 just outside of Wilmington. 7/23/15
DAMIAN GILETTO/THE NEWS JOURNAL
Nichols
and three children in her car’s back seat were treated at the scene by
New Castle County paramedics and taken to Christiana Hospital, Hale
said.
An 8-year-old boy was transferred to Nemours/Alfred
I. duPont Hospital for Children, where he was admitted with serious
injuries, Hale said.
Nichols was admitted to Christiana Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, he said.
Two of the children, a 5-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl, were treated there for minor injuries, he added.
Nichols
was properly restrained, he said, and the children were using seat
belts but not proper child-restraint devices. Mable also was properly
restrained at the time of the crash, he said.
The highway was reopened 31/2 hours after the crash, Hale said.
Southbound
traffic was diverted to Du Pont Highway (U.S.13) near Wilmington,
causing massive delays as police and transportation officials asked
motorists to avoid the crash area and find alternative routes.
The
fatal crash remains under investigation by the Delaware State Police
Collision Reconstruction Unit, Hale said, but no charges will be filed.