PA Man Involved In Crash That Killed Father, 4 Daughters

A Pennsylvania man was involved in a Delaware car crash Friday afternoon that killed five members of the same family, police said. The 24-year-old Bethlehem man sustained non life-threatening injuries in the crash that killed a New Jersey father and his four daughters.

The crash happened shortly before 4 p.m. on Rt. 1 in Townsend, Del. after a pickup truck crossed a center median, drove the wrong way and struck a car driven by the unidentified Pennsylvania man, then hit the minivan carrying the family, police said.

UPDATE: Police ID PA Man, Others In Crash That Killed Dad, 4 Daughters

The driver of the 1998 Toyota Sienna minivan, a 61-year-old man from Teaneck, N.J. was wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Delaware State Police. Also in the vehicle were his four daughters, ages 20 and 17 as well as two 13-year-olds, all of whom were not properly restrained and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

His 53-year-old wife, who was wearing a seat belt in the front passenger seat, was transported to a local area hospital in Delaware where she was admitted with serious injuries, police said.

The operator of the F-350 pick up truck, a 44-year-old man from East New Market, Md., was transported to a local area hospital where he was treated and released with non-life threatening injuries, police said. He was wearing a seat belt, and it is unknown if driver-impairment was a factor.

His passenger, a 30-year-old man from Hurlock, Md., was wearing a seat belt and was also transported to a local area hospital where he was treated and released with non-life threatening injuries, police said.

The operator of the Sable, the man from from Bethlehem, was transported to a local area hospital, where he was treated and released with non-life threatening injuries. He was wearing a seat belt and impairment does not appear to be a factor, police said.

The pickup truck crossed over the center median "for unknown reasons" when it headed south in the northbound lanes, police said during the press conference.

The truck entered the northbound lanes where a 2002 Mercury Sable was traveling northbound on Route 1, just north of Pine Tree Road. The 1998 Toyota Sienna was traveling a short distance behind the Sable, police said.

The front driver’s side of the F-350 pickup struck the left rear-side of the Sable, causing the Sable to spin out of control and come to a rest in an embankment, police said.

The F-350 pickup continued operating out-of-control southbound in the northbound lanes when the front of the Sienna struck the passenger's side of the pickup, police said.

The impact caused both vehicles to leave the edge of the roadway and head into a ditch, authorities said.

Southbound Route 1 in the area of Pine Tree Road was closed for approximately 90 minutes and the northbound lanes were closed for approximately 5 hours while the crash was investigated and cleared.

Police said victims services personnel were "diligently" working to notify the next-of-kin. Names were being withheld until that process was completed.

"It's certainly heartbreaking, as you can imagine," State Police Master Cpl. Melissa Jaffe said during the televised press conference.

"Those of us who have family and children – I feel so badly for this family. I can't imagine what they're going through, to lose four children in a crash," Jaffe said. "It's just something that's unheard of."

The crash continues to remain under investigation by the Delaware State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit.

If you or someone you know is a witness of this crash, contact the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit/Delaware Victim Center at 1800 VICTIM-1 or email the unit director at debra.reed@state.de.us.

With reporting by Tom Davis

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