Harrington Man Injured After Pursuit Leads To A Crash

Location: South DuPont Boulevard (US113) and South Old State Road, Georgetown, DE

Date of Occurrence: Sunday March 17, 2013 at approximately 1:10 a.m.

Operator and Vehicle Information:

Operator #1: Joseph A. Watkins, 25, Harrington, DE
Vehicle #1: 1993 Dodge Ram pickup

Resume:
Georgetown, DE- The Delaware State Police are currently investigating a single vehicle crash north of Georgetown after the driver led Troopers in a pursuit.

The incident started around 1:10 a.m. this morning as a Trooper was traveling southbound on Coastal Highway (SR1) just north of Dartmouth Road with a civilian passenger who he was assisting from a previous traffic stop. At the same time, a Dodge Ram pickup truck was traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of SR1 and almost struck the patrol car head on. Information was relayed from the Trooper to the Emergency Operations Center (9-1-1) about the vehicle, and another Trooper in the area was able to locate the truck still heading northbound in the area of the Nassau bridge.

The second Trooper began following the truck as it was now in the northbound lanes of SR1 after crossing over the median and striking a road sign near Wescoats Road. Upon activating the emergency equipment in the patrol car, the vehicle failed to stop and began accelerating away at a high rate of speed. Officers from Milton PD and Alcohol & Tobacco Enforcement assisted in the pursuit as the truck continued north before turning westbound onto Clifton Road. The pursuit continued through numerous county roads before traveling though the town of Lincoln and eventually southbound on South Old State Road. The truck continued across Milton-Ellendale Highway (SR16) before coming to the end of the road where is intersected with South DuPont Boulevard (US113) and crossed both northbound and southbound lanes, ultimately crashing into trees on the west side of the roadway.

The driver, who was later identified as Joseph A. Watkins, had to be extricated by mechanical means before EMS transported him to Milford Memorial Hospital. He was later transferred to Kent General Hospital where his current condition is unknown.

Traffic in the area of US113 southbound and South Old State Road was impacted for an hour and a half as the crash was investigated and cleared. Alcohol is believed to be a factor and charges are pending.