PA EMT, Officer Killed On I-95 While Helping At Accident

WEST CHESTER, PA — A West Chester University security officer was struck and killed after stopping to help at the scene of an accident on I-95 in Delaware on Sunday.

The West Chester University Police Department announced "the tragic and untimely death" of Cecilia Escobar-Duplan, 25, who was also a firefighter and EMT.

Escobar-Duplanhad had been a security officer within the Department of Public Safety at WCU since 2018, the University Police Department reported. The Department reported she was driving home after her security shift, in the early morning hours of Aug. 22, when she witnessed a car crash on Interstate 95 in Delaware. She was a firefighter and EMT with Wilmington Manor Volunteer Fire Company since 2018, the Fire Company said.

A Delaware State Police report said that around 4:13 a.m. on Aug. 22 a black 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee was traveling southbound on Interstate 95 through a construction zone and struck a crash cushion positioned between the single southbound lane of travel and the exit ramp for Delaware Avenue.

The Jeep spun and came to rest perpendicular to the roadway, completely blocking the single southbound lane of travel, the report said.

After this collision, Escobar-Duplanhad, who was heading southbound I-95, stopped her vehicle on the left shoulder of the off-ramp to Delaware Avenue. The State Police report said walked into the single southbound lane of travel to offer assistance to the Jeep driver, and as she did, a GMC Sierra pickup truck approached the collision scene.

The truck's driver, 72, was unable to perceive the collision ahead due to lighting and weather conditions, the police report said.

The front of the truck struck Escobar-Duplanhad and then hit the passenger side of the Jeep. Both vehicles moved south a short distance and eventually stopped in the single southbound lane of travel, again completely blocking the travel lane.

The 37-year-old operator of the Jeep was transported to Wilmington Hospital where he was treated and later released for minor injuries, the police report said.

An ambulance rushed Escobar-Duplanhad to Christiana Hospital where she was pronounced dead, the police report said.

Delaware State Police said impairment is not a factor with any operator in this collision.

Interstate 95 southbound was closed at its junction with U.S. Route 202 for about 5 hours while the two collisions were investigated and cleared.

The Wilmington Manor Volunteer Fire Company said Escobar-Duplan had joined the Company in June 2018 as a probationary member and achieved full senior member status in June 2019. She acquired her firefighting and basic medical training and was actively riding the ambulance as an apprentice.

She was registered to start the Emergency Medical Technician Course this fall to acquire her State and National Registry certifications, the Fire Company said in a social media post. Cecelia was also attending West Chester University to finish her Criminal Justice undergraduate degree after previously acquiring an Associates in Criminal Justice at Delaware Technical and Community College, the Fire Company reported.

"Cecelia was a very enthusiastic and charismatic person that was continually improving her skills to grow in the Department and within her life and community," said Fire Company President Ronald T. Hopkins. "We are saddened by this loss, and are in contact with her family to provide any support while they deal with their grief."

According to the Wilmington Manor Fire Company, Escobar-Duplan was not married and has no children, but the Company said, "She has very close-knit siblings and parents."

A statement from the West Chester University Police Department said, "Those of us that knew Cecilia know that this is exactly the kind of person she was. Cecilia would always go out of her way to help anyone and everyone in need! We will all miss the smile and brightness that she brought to this Department and the campus community."

The investigation remains ongoing, police said. Anyone with information regarding this collision should contact Detective Breen with the Delaware State Police Troop 2 Collision Reconstruction Unit by calling 302-365-8486. Information may also be provided by calling Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or at Delaware Crimestoppers.

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