Guardrails sought after fatal crashes on Delaware highway

(AP) – A recent fatal crash on Delaware’s main north-south highway is raising questions about the need to install guardrails.

Five members of a New Jersey family were killed earlier this month on Delaware Route 1 after a pickup truck crossed the median and struck the family’s minivan as they returned from a beach vacation.

The Delaware Department of Transportation says the highway, which runs from Christiana through the state’s beach towns, has seen nine fatal median crossover crashes that killed 13 people since 2005.

Transportation officials tell The News Journal of Wilmington that guardrails aren’t required when the median creates more than 50 feet of separation. Still, the agency is planning to install guardrails on the highway in the area near Townsend where the most recent fatal crash occurred.