Year: 2009

A story that was lost, at least by me, in the ether of the holidays was the tragic death of Delaware City firefighter Michelle Smith on December 22, 2008 as a result of a car hitting her while she tended to another man who was injured in another accident. The details are more sinister than I describe:

[Joseph M. Taye Jr., 28, of Bear,] allegedly was at the wheel of a 2004 BMW on Dec. 20, driving at a high rate of speed southbound on U.S. 13, when he sideswiped a marked county police car stationed at the scene of a motorcycle accident [motorcyclist Edward Reiss, 30, of New Castle,] was involved in, lost control of the car and plowed into Reiss and [firefighter Michelle] Smith, who was on the ground attending to Reiss’ injuries.

Taye then reportedly pulled the BMW, owned by his girlfriend, to a stop on the right shoulder of the highway beyond the crash site, where a light-colored Honda pulled up next to him. A passenger in the Honda allegedly pulled Taye, who is paraplegic, out of his car and put him in the Honda, which then sped away from the scene, police say.

Detectives are still searching for the Honda and the people in it. Smith, a volunteer firefighter for Delaware City and Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown, was taken to Christiana Hospital, where she died two days later of her injuries..