Police charge man for 5th DUI offense after pedestrian-involved car crash

Delaware State Police have arrested a man accused of a 5th DUI offense after he struck two pedestrians.

Police say 51-year-old William S. Smith of Dover was driving on North Dupont Highway, US Rt. 13, while under the influence of alcohol when he veered off the road and struck two pedestrians.

Those pedestrians, two 17-year-old girls from Dover, were taken to a nearby hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.

According to police, Smith also had two passengers, a 47-year-old male from Dover, and a 47-year-old female from Newark who were not injured.

Police say the incident occurred on Saturday, August 18, at approximately 7:14 pm at the intersection of  North Dupont Highway and W. Denneys Road.

Authorities say Smith fled the scene, but police later found him in the Delaware Technical Community College parking lot. Police then opened a DUI investigation after they detected a smell of alcohol coming from Smith.

Police say they ran Smith’s record and found that he had four previous DUI convictions, making this his fifth offense.

Smith was not injured as a result of the crash and police charged him with a 5th DUI offense, two counts of first-degree vehicular assault, two counts of reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of a collision resulting in injury, driving with a suspended or revoked license, and other traffic violations.

Smith was arraigned before the Justice of the Peace Court 7 and committed to the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center on $16,675.00 cash only bond.