Student from N.J. fatally struck by motorcycle fleeing police near U. of Delaware

A college student from New Jersey was fatally struck near the University of Delaware on Tuesday night by a motorcycle that was fleeing from police, officials said.

The 18-year-old woman, a freshman at the university, was struck in a crosswalk on East Main Street near North College Avenue shortly before midnight, in Newark, Delaware, that city’s police said in a Wednesday statement.

She was pronounced dead on the scene after bystanders attempted life-saving measures, police said. Her identity was being withheld pending notification of her family.

Tuesday was the first day of classes for the fall semester, the university calendar shows.

A University of Delaware police officer attempted to stop the motorcycle for a traffic offense about three blocks away from the crash scene at 11:53 p.m. The patrol officer terminated the pursuit after the motorcycle fled at a fast speed, Newark police said.

The student was struck within the next minute, officials said.

Following the crash, the driver came off of the motorcycle and it continued onto the sidewalk, striking four more people and a light pole, authorities said.

“Incidents such as this are unimaginably tragic,” University of Delaware President Dennis Assanis and Vice President José-Luis Riera said in a joint statement on Wednesday. “We cannot express enough how sorry we are for the family, friends, and greater community as we are all so deeply shaken by the sudden loss of one of our own. Our hearts are very heavy today.”

Three of the pedestrians hit on the sidewalk were treated on the scene and one was brought to the hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the motorcycle was also treated for non-life threatening injuries at the hospital.

The driver of the motorcycle has not been charged nor identified as the crash remained under investigation.

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Nicolas Fernandes may be reached atnfernandes@njadvancemedia.com