NEW CASTLE COUNTY, D.E, – Two 17-year-olds, Cara and Nathan, were struck and killed while walking on South Dupont Highway, according to Delaware State Police. Police say the driver did not stay at the scene, but investigators have now arrested a suspect.

Community mourns teens killed on South Dupont Highway

What we know:

Delaware State Police say the crash happened around 1:10 a.m. last Sunday while Cara and Nathan were walking an e-bike in or near the left lane of southbound Dupont Parkway near Denny Lynn Drive. Police say the driver initially stopped but then left the scene.

Troopers later arrested 23-year-old Nizaiah Ellis during a traffic stop and say the car had damage consistent with the crash.

Police say the two teens were headed to Cara’s house to leave for a trip with her family later that day.

Family and friends gathered Tuesday for a memorial to remember Cara and Nathan. 

“It’s still new. It comes in waves but sometimes you just feel paralyzed and numb,” said Rachel Roderick and Heather Feeley, the teens’ mothers. 

“I want others to hug their babies extra tight. Take so many photos you don’t know what to do to them. (Say yes to your kids more.)” said Roderick and Feeley.

“Forgiveness would have been easier had he not left our babies. Left. So senseless,” said Cara’s mother, Heather Feeley.

Roderick said, “It’s beautiful. The love is what’s keeping us going. The support of the community.”

The teens’ lives and dreams remembered

Cara graduated high school a year early and was a student at Del Tech, hoping to become a cosmetologist. 

Nathan would have been a senior in high school this fall and wanted to own a mechanics business working on boats, motorcycles and cars.

Family and friends described the teens as kind and deeply loved. 

“They were so kind. They loved everyone as is displayed here today. No one was not a friend and they loved each other immensely,” said Feeley. “They both touched so many lives and I don’t even think they realized how big of an impact they left on everyone,” said Roderick.

Kaelynn Miller, one of Cara’s best friends who helped organize the memorial, said, “Kara and Nathan never deserved this. If anyone is listening to this they weren’t just a person. The people you took were some of the most genuine souls out there.”

Today would have been Cara’s 18th birthday. Parents said the two were dating at the time of their deaths.

A GoFundMe has been set up for Cara’s family and Nathan’s family.

What we don’t know:

Police have not released further details about the investigation or any potential charges for the driver. 

Additional information about the ongoing case has not been provided.

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Willie Bonds has tendered his resignation as warden of the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Delaware County after less than six months running the prison.

“The resignation was submitted due to a personal family matter and an opportunity to pursue other career interests,” said Michael Connolly, communications director of Delaware County, in a written statement.

The Delaware County Jail Oversight Board named Bonds the warden in February. He took over for interim warden David Mascollino, who spent five months on the job.

Mascollino had stepped in following the resignation of warden Laura Williams in August 2025. Bonds will remain in his current role until the county implements a succession plan.

“While the County was looking forward to his continued good service, County leadership respects his personal decision and is immensely grateful for his work on behalf of our residents, the incarcerated population, and the dedicated staff of George W. Hill,” Connolly said.

The county will name an interim warden and work with the prison’s leadership to identify a permanent replacement, Connolly said.

“As this process moves ahead, Delaware County remains committed to continuing its efforts to build George W. Hill into a facility that every resident can be proud of and continuing the major investments and upgrades to the facility already well under way,” he said.

• A Delaware bill would allow candidates and elected officials to use campaign funds for security.
• The measure comes amid a national rise in threats and violence against public officials.
• Covered expenses would include security systems and personal security, but not firearms.
• Funding for these protections would come from voluntary campaign contributions, not taxpayer money.

Delaware candidates and elected officials may soon be able to use campaign funds to protect themselves on and off the campaign trail.

A House bill introduced June 4 would allow funding for security costs for Delaware officials and candidates. Lawmakers said those expenses would be covered through voluntary contributions, not taxpayer dollars.

Nationally, the bill arrives during a fraught period for public officials. In recent years, several lawmakers in other states have been targets of politically motivated violence, resulting in serious injuries, property damage and, in some cases, deaths.

In Delaware, lawmakers didn’t point to any local examples, but said many legislators are on edge. A 2024 research report from the Brennan Center for Justice found that 43% of interviewed state lawmakers experienced threats, as well as 18% of local officials. 

Some public officials in that research said they were less likely to hold public events, work on contentious topics or even run for higher office.

The Delaware bill mirrors similar proposals introduced across the country aimed at improving safety. At the federal level, candidates and officeholders — along with their families and staff — are already allowed to receive such protections. 

To advance, the bill will need to clear its final committee and the Senate floor before June 30. Otherwise, lawmakers start all over again next session, after the midterms.

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‘A responsibility to act’ 

Campaign expenditures in Delaware are currently limited to mostly advertising, food and refreshments, as well as attendance at political events and travel expenses. 

If passed, House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown’s bill would cover several security-related expenses, include:

• Electronic security systems located in a candidate’s home or office 
• “Personal security,” a category the Delaware Department of Elections said it would further define if the bill passes.
• Cameras, fences or “other comparable security-related equipment” 

These funds can also be used to help protect their families in certain circumstances, Minor-Brown told Delaware Online/The News Journal. 

They cannot be used to pay for firearms, however. 

House Minority Whip Jeff Spiegelman raised a concern about this during the bill’s June 11 hearing in his chamber, calling guns another matter of defense.

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Fellow sponsor House Majority Leader Kerri Evelyn Harris said the choice was not to include firearms in the bill, saying this could lead to discomfort for many, and potentially do more harm than good.

Minor-Brown also said candidates covered in this bill must have filed for office and currently be campaigning. Additionally, the New Castle Democrat said money must come from voluntary contributors.

No officeholder or candidate is required to abide by this measure, Harris told lawmakers, as the use of funds will remain “entirely optional.” 

The bill comes as lawmakers nationwide have faced rising intimidation and violence in recent years.

This includes former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, who, alongside her husband Mark, were shot and killed in what officials described as “a politically motivated assassination” last year, as reported by USA TODAY.  

In Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro’s home was the target of an arson attack last April.