The Delaware State Police are investigating a fatal motor vehicle collision that occurred Friday night in Blades after a suspect fled from an attempted traffic stop and caused a three-vehicle crash.
Officials said on September 6, 2025, at approximately 11:00 p.m., a trooper from Troop 5 attempted to stop a Chevrolet Silverado for a registration violation by activating the patrol vehicle’s emergency lights while on Seaford Road, just outside the town limits of Blades. The vehicle was displaying a temporary tag that had expired in February and had been flagged as not valid for operation on public roads according to police.
The driver sped north at a high rate of speed. As Seaford Road becomes Market Street within Blades, the suspect vehicle entered the town limits. Less than a minute after the pursuit began, the fleeing Silverado crossed into oncoming traffic on Market Street and crashed.
Troopers said that the Silverado struck a Ford F-150 head-on in the southbound left turn lane of Market Street, just north of East High Street. The impact pushed the F-150 backward, causing its rear end to hit the front bumper of a Chevrolet Camaro, which had been traveling south behind the F-150.
The driver of the fleeing Chevrolet Silverado, 58-year-old Purnell Collins, of Seaford, Delaware, was not properly restrained and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Ford F-150, a 34-year-old man from Laurel, Delaware, was wearing a seatbelt and was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He was later released.
The driver of the Chevrolet Camaro, a 20-year-old man from Delmar, Maryland, was also wearing a seatbelt and declined medical treatment at the scene.
The roadway was partially shut down for approximately five hours while members of the Delaware State Police Troop 7 Collision Reconstruction Unit investigated and cleared the roadway.
