✅ UPDATE: As of 11:45 a.m., Kirkwood Highway at Delaware Park Drive has reopened.
The New Castle County Division of Police is currently on the scene of a motor vehicle collision at the intersection of Delaware Park Drive and Kirkwood Highway.
As a result, Kirkwood Highway is reduced to one lane in both the eastbound and westbound directions. Motorists can expect delays in the area.
Please avoid this location if possible and consider using alternate routes.
Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
(Newark, DE. 19702) On Sunday, December 21, 2025, at approximately 12:00 p.m., New Castle County Police patrol officers responded to the 3000 block of Old County Road after receiving a report that two juveniles wearing orange shirts had walked away from a juvenile detention center. As they were leaving the facility, a 16-year-old juvenile attempted to steal an employee’s vehicle but was unsuccessful. The juveniles then fled into a neighboring community. Shortly thereafter, a second 911 call reported that a juvenile suspect matching the earlier description had stolen a Jeep Grand Cherokee from Bordeaux Boulevard in the Meritage neighborhood.
Officers responded to the area and located one suspect, a 15-year-old male who had fled the detention center, whom an off-duty police officer had detained. The second suspect, a 16-year-old male driving the stolen Jeep, later stopped the vehicle in the neighborhood and was taken into custody without incident.
Both juveniles were transported to New Castle County Police Headquarters, where they were charged as follows:
16-year-old male
One felony count of Theft of a Motor Vehicle
One felony count of Attempted Theft of a Motor Vehicle
One felony count of Conspiracy in the Second Degree
One misdemeanor count of Escape in the Third Degree
The 16-year-old male was arraigned by New Castle County Family Court and committed to a juvenile detention center after failing to post $7,000 cash bail.
15-year-old male
One felony count of Conspiracy in the Second Degree
One misdemeanor count of Escape in the Third Degree
The 15-year-old male was arraigned by New Castle County Family Court and committed to a juvenile detention center after failing to post $3,000 cash bail.
(Wilmington, DE. 19805) On Sunday, December 21, 2025, at approximately 12:40 p.m., an Officer from D-Squad was on routine patrol near Maryland Avenue in Wilmington when he observed a white Acura TLX driving towards the City of Wilmington. The Officer conducted a registration check on the vehicle, which returned as stolen on December 20, 2025, and was being investigated by the Delaware State Police. The Officer activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop; however, the driver, later identified as 43-year-old David Smith of Wilmington, fled in the stolen Acura at a high rate of speed into the City of Wilmington. The Officer continued to follow the stolen Acura and observed Smith commit multiple traffic violations, including running several stop signs. Due to his reckless high-speed driving through residential areas, the Officer eventually lost sight of the vehicle.
A New Castle County Police Officer later located the stolen Acura abandoned at the intersection of West 2nd Street and North Union Street. A description of the driver was obtained and quickly shared with responding units to aid in the search. Shortly thereafter, a Delaware State Trooper spotted an individual matching the description on South Union Street in Wilmington and took David Smith into custody.
At the time of his arrest, David Smith was also wanted by the New Castle County Police Department in connection with a burglary that occurred on Friday, December 5, 2025, at approximately 4:10 a.m., at a business in the 3300 block of Old Capitol Trail in Wilmington. Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Unit identified Smith as the suspect who forcibly entered the business and stole cash, along with more than 30 cartons of cigarettes. As a result, Detectives had been actively searching for him before his arrest.
David Smith was transported to New Castle County Police Headquarters, where he was charged with the following offenses:
One Felony Count of Disregarding a Police Officer’s Signal
One Felony Count of Wearing a Disguise During a Felony
One Felony Count of Burglary in the Third Degree
One Felony Count of Theft Under $1500
One Misdemeanor Count of Reckless Driving
One Misdemeanor Count of Criminal Mischief under $1000
One Misdemeanor Count of Resisting Arrest
One Misdemeanor Count of Driving While Suspended or Revoked
Seven Violations of Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign.
One Violation of Unattended Motor Vehicle
David Smith was also found to have an outstanding warrant for motor vehicle theft, along with other related charges issued by the Delaware State Police, and he was subsequently arraigned on those charges.
David Smith was arraigned on all charges from both agencies by Justice of the Peace Court 11 and committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution after failing to post $23,000 in cash bail.
