A University of Delaware freshman had just finished his first day of classes on Tuesday when he was struck and killed by a speeding motorcyclist who was fleeing the scene after being pulled over for a traffic violation, police said.
Noelia Gomez, 18, from Clark, New Jersey, was attacked in front of friends and classmates just before midnight.
Police identified the motorcyclist as 27-year-old Brian Bridle.
According to Newark Police in Delaware, he was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, failing to obey the signals of a police officer, operating a specialized vehicle without a special license, operating an unregistered motor vehicle and three counts of failing to stop at a red light.
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Brian Bridle, 27, has been charged with second-degree murder. (Newark Delaware Police Department)
When a University of Delaware police officer attempted to stop him for a traffic violation, Bridle ignored the officer's emergency lights and fled at a “high rate of speed,” Newark police said. Less than a minute after they tried to stop him, Bridle struck Gomez, who was in a crosswalk near the university campus, police said.
Officers were not pursuing the motorbike at the time of the accident and had their emergency lights turned off as it sped away, police added.
Passersby tried to save Gomez but were unsuccessful and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The collision threw Bridle from his bike, which continued onto the sidewalk and struck four other pedestrians, three of whom suffered minor injuries and one was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Bridle also suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at a nearby hospital.
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Noelia Gomez was pronounced dead at the scene. (Google Street View)
Bridle was taken into custody Thursday. He is being held at the Howard R. Young Correctional Facility in Wilmington on $362,005 bail. Police are still investigating the crash.
Gomez recently graduated with honors from Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, where she enjoyed dancing and cheerleading, the release said. Her ObituaryAccording to her LinkedIn profile, she had interests in finance and business.
The exterior of the University of Delaware.
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“An incident like this is unimaginably tragic,” said University of Delaware President Dennis Assanis. He said in a statement. “We are all deeply shaken by the sudden death of our colleague and cannot express how sorry we are to his family, friends and community. Our hearts are very heavy right now.”
