Delaware State Police have arrested 24-year-old Luis Lucas-Mendez of Georgetown, Delaware, in connection with a fatal crash that claimed the lives of two individuals. Lucas-Mendez faces multiple charges, including vehicular homicide, DUI, and related offenses.
The crash occurred on October 6, 2024, at approximately 1:34 a.m., when a 2016 Nissan Rogue was traveling southbound on Sussex Highway, south of Cannon Road. At the same time, a 2005 Honda Pilot driven by Lucas-Mendez was traveling northbound but had veered into the left southbound lane, directly into the path of the Rogue according to police. The two vehicles collided head-on.
The driver of the Rogue, a 22-year-old man from Washington, D.C., and a rear-seat passenger, an 18-year-old woman from Bethesda, Maryland, sustained critical injuries and were transported to a local hospital. Two other passengers, 22-year-old Eric Staley of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and 18-year-old Makayla Belton of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Lucas-Mendez was also taken to the hospital with serious injuries, while his passenger, a 40-year-old man from Georgetown, Delaware, was critically injured. Investigators determined that Lucas-Mendez was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash according to officials.
Following his release from the hospital on October 9, 2024, Lucas-Mendez was arrested and taken to Delaware State Police Troop 2. He was charged with two counts of Vehicular Homicide 2nd Degree, along with several other serious offenses. After being arraigned by the Justice of the Peace Court 3, Lucas-Mendez was committed to Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on a $30,201 cash bond.