Just after 5:30, Monday evening rescue crews from the Goodwill, Five Points, and Hollaway Terrace Fire companies were dispatched to Wilmington Road (Route 9) in the area of Baldt Avenue for reports of a vehicle accident involving a train. In addition to the crews from the fire companies, New Castle County Paramedics (NCCEMS) and Trooper 4 were also assigned to the accident.
Upon their arrival, crews began working to extricate the 19-year-old male driver from the badly damaged vehicle. Crew simultaneously began accessing the damage to the train to determine if any hazardous materials were leaking from the train.
As Trooper 4 arrive on scene the pilot determined that there was not a suitable location to land nearby and opted to land at Castle Hill Elementary School.
Crews determined that no hazardous materials were leaking from the train and recalled HAZMAT crews that had been dispatched as part of the response.
The patient was extricated from the vehicle using the “jaws of life”. Once removed from the vehicle, the man was treated on scene by the New Castle County Paramedics for possible head and internal injuries, according to NCCEMS S/Sergeant Abigail Haas. The patient was transported by ambulance to the landing zone and was flown to the Christiana Hospital in serious condition.
Wilmington Road is closed in both directions in the area of the Baldt Avenue train tracks while New Castle City Police investigate the crash.