Fatal crash closes I-95 a day after carjacking, gunfire and police chase

Anitra Johnson, Delaware News Journal
·2 min read
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A day after a carjacking led to a police chase that closed both directions of I-95 outside Newark for hours, a late-night crash shut down I-95 south near Newark yet again and resulted in the death of a man from Bear.

Delaware State Police said that on Dec. 3, 2022, at approximately 10:17 p.m., a 2021 Hyundai Accent driven by 35-year-old Matthew Slavish was stopped in the left-center lane of I-95 near the Delaware House Travel Plaza/Biden Welcome Center. They did not offer an explanation as to why the car was stopped in the center lane of the highway.

As the Accent sat in the left-center lane, a 2020 International box truck traveling south on I-95 in the same lane rear-ended the Accent. The collision propelled both vehicles forward through the guardrail on the right shoulder until they came to rest off the west side area of I-95 south.

The southbound lanes of I-95 near the Delaware House Travel Plaza / Biden Welcome Center were the scene of a crash between a 2021 Hyundai Accent and a 2020 box truck on December 3, 2022.
The southbound lanes of I-95 near the Delaware House Travel Plaza / Biden Welcome Center were the scene of a crash between a 2021 Hyundai Accent and a 2020 box truck on December 3, 2022.

Slavish was taken to an area hospital for medical treatment of serious injuries but was pronounced deceased later in the evening.

The occupants of the box truck, a 50-year-old man and a 21-year-old man, both from Fort Washington, Maryland, also were taken to an area hospital, where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Delaware State Police Troop 2 Collision Reconstruction Unit's preliminary investigation closed I-95 south for almost five hours. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control hazardous materials team was called to the scene because of fuel leaking from the damaged Hyundai Accent.

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The investigation of this incident continues.

State troopers are asking anyone who witnessed this collision to contact Sgt. J. Jefferson by calling 302-365-8484.

Contact reporter Anitra Johnson at 302-379-5786 or ajohnson@delawareonline.com with tips and story ideas. Become a subscriber to access more stories and the best in local reporting.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Fatal crash closes I-95 day after carjacking, gunfire and police chase