The Delaware State Police are investigating a fatal crash involving two school buses that occurred Thursday morning at Gauger-Cobbs Middle School in Newark.
On October 23, 2025, at approximately 7:00 a.m., an IC 300 school bus was parked in the drop-off lane at Gauger-Cobbs Middle School, located at 50 Gender Road in Newark. At the same time, a second IC 300 school bus was positioned directly behind the first bus. As the driver prepared to conduct an emergency exit drill behind the first bus, the second bus drifted forward for unknown reasons and struck her.
The bus driver, a 54-year-old woman from Wilmington, Delaware, was taken to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead. Her name is being withheld until her family is notified.
The driver of the second bus, a 53-year-old woman from New Castle, Delaware, was not injured.
The school buses were carrying 48 students. At this time, no student injuries have been reported.
The parking lot was closed for approximately 4 hours while the scene was investigated and cleared.
The Delaware State Police Troop 2 Collision Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate this crash. Troopers ask anyone who witnessed the crash or has relevant information to contact Master Corporal R. Kunicki at (302) 365-8417. Information may also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police or contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.
If you or someone you know is a victim or witness of a crime or have lost a loved one to a sudden death and need assistance, the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit / Delaware Victim Center is available to offer you support and resources 24 hours a day through a toll-free hotline at 1-800-VICTIM-1 (1-800-842-8461). You may also email the Victim Services Unit at [email protected].
Delaware State Police arrested a 13-year-old male from Wilmington, Delaware, for multiple felony offenses following an attempted theft of a motor vehicle from Harry O. Eisenberg Elementary School’s parking lot on Tuesday afternoon.
On July 22, 2025, at approximately 4:57 p.m., troopers responded to Harry O. Eisenberg Elementary School, located at 27 Landers Lane, New Castle, for a report of a fight. In the ensuing investigation, troopers learned the 64-year-old victim returned to his Ford Transit van in the school’s parking lot, and found approximately 3-4 teenage suspects in the vehicle. The victim confronted the suspects, and ran after them as they fled from the vehicle. While fleeing, one of the suspects, later identified as the 13-year-old male, pointed an orange flare gun at the victim. The victim ultimately caught up to the 13-year-old, and stopped him from fleeing, during which the suspect punched the victim. Arriving troopers took the 13-year-old into custody without incident, and recovered the flare gun from him.
During the investigation, troopers discovered the Ford’s driver side door had been damaged by the suspects, and a screwdriver was shoved into the vehicle’s ignition. This type of damage is consistent with the nationwide trend of vehicles being stolen using a screwdriver. The suspect’s co-conspirators were not located, and have not been identified at this time.
The suspect was taken to Troop 2, where he was charged with crimes listed below, arraigned by New Castle County Family Court, and committed to New Castle County Detention Center on a $26,200 cash bond.
Attempted to Commit Theft of a Motor Vehicle (Felony)
Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony (Felony)
Aggravated Menacing (Felony)
Possession of Burglar Tools (Felony)
Conspiracy 2nd Degree (Felony)
Offensive Touching
Criminal Mischief
The Delaware State Police continues to investigate this incident. Troopers are asking anyone with information about this case to contact Corporal W. Beinke at Troop 2 by calling (302) 834-2620. Information may also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police or contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.
If you or someone you know is a victim or witness of a crime or have lost a loved one to a sudden death and need assistance, the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit / Delaware Victim Center is available to offer you support and resources 24 hours a day through a toll-free hotline at 1-800-VICTIM-1 (1-800-842-8461). You may also email the Victim Services Unit at [email protected].
The Delaware State Police are investigating an accidental shooting that occurred this morning at ASPIRA Charter High School in Newark, leaving one man injured.
On April 10, 2025, at approximately 7:02 a.m., troopers responded to a report of a shooting at ASPIRA Charter High School, located at 750 Otts Chapel Road, Newark. Upon arriving, troopers discovered that a 41-year-old man, who was a school bus driver and member of the Culture & Climate Team, had sustained a gunshot wound to the leg after his firearm, which was concealed in his clothing, accidentally discharged while inside the school.
A preliminary investigation indicates that the firearm, which was concealed in the school employee’s waistband, discharged unintentionally due to how it was handled or manipulated. The incident took place in a school hallway while children and staff members were present. Fortunately, no one else was injured. The school’s constable rendered aid to the school employee, who was ultimately transported to an area hospital by EMS.
The Delaware State Police Troop 2 Criminal Investigations Unit continues to investigate this incident. Anyone with relevant information or who may have witnessed the shooting is asked to please contact Detective M. Conway by calling 302-365-8411. Information may also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police or contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.
If you or someone you know is a victim or witness of a crime or have lost a loved one to a sudden death and need assistance, the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit / Delaware Victim Center is available to offer you support and resources 24 hours a day through a toll-free hotline at 1-800-VICTIM-1 (1-800-842-8461). You may also email the Victim Services Unit at [email protected].
The father of the young girl with Down Syndrome who was assaulted in the Cape Henlopen School District is speaking out in an exclusive interview where he tells us his story of what happened and calls out district officials and the school board.
TV Delmarva News Director Rob Petree was able to sit down over the weekend with Ryan Pickett who addressed the Cape Henlopen School Board on Thursday, April 28 where he spoke about an incident that occurred in January on a school bus involving his daughter who has down syndrome.
Pickett tells us how he and his wife didn’t learn about what happened until two weeks after the incident occurred by Delaware State Police.
“It happened on January 21, my wife got a phone call from the State Police Resource Officer telling us that there had been an incident on the 21st, which was two weeks before,” Pickett tells our news department. “We immediately wanted to find out what happened, so that was a Friday afternoon and I, over the weekend, left a message with the Superintendent asking to speak with him regarding this.”
All requests to meet with Cape Henlopen School District Superintendent Bob Fulton went ignored, according to Pickett who said he was finally able to meet with two other district officials who allowed he and his wife to review what happened through the school bus surveillance footage.
The severity of what happened didn’t really sink in until Pickett and his wife viewed the video footage from the bus that allegedly shows the aide punch their eight-year-old daughter twice in the head, all the while screaming profanities.
“The video shows her punching our daughter in the head twice,” Pickett stated. “Also, on top of it, they’re saying from the district that they can’t hear what the woman is saying, and that the bus driver didn’t know, but from the video and us watching the video, and I’m confident when you watch the video you’ll hear the same thing, you can hear very clearly what the lady is saying. She’s verbally assaulting our daughter and yelling at her.”
After it was clear Superintendent Bob Fulton would not meet with the family, Pickett took his concerns to the Cape Henlopen School Board. He was cut off by Board President Dr. Alison Myers who said “sir, that’s your three minutes. Mr. Pickett, that’s your three minutes” to which Pickett responded by saying “I can finish here or with the local news” to which Dr. Myers responded by saying “that’s what you’re going to have to do sir, three minutes is all you have.”
Interestingly enough, Dr. Myers, according to her biography on the Cape Henlopen School District website, is a former special education teacher. TV Delmarva’s Rob Petree reached out to Dr. Myers in an email:
‘You cut him off right at 3 minutes, when the board can and has in the past extended time for sensitive issues like this, but yet you cut him off and were entirely unsympathetic to the issue he and his family are facing due to a lack of due diligence on the part of the school district. Seeing as you are a former special education teacher, how do you justify how you treated Mr. Pickett?‘
We have yet to receive a response from Dr. Myers.
Pickett says he received a plethora of praise for his restraint at the callous way the board treated him, but the issue dives much deeper than that and is deeply concerning.
“It’s funny, I’m getting a lot of respect for my restraint, and I am naturally a very mild-mannered person, anybody who knows me would probably say that, but I was in my seat and there’s a couple times you can hear me yelling and her saying ‘sir’ and the plan with all of this was not to make this some big known thing,” Pickett stressed. “When we originally went to the school district, we wanted help for our daughter and we wanted to make sure that this never happened again, we gave them time to do it, and the district failed on all accounts.”
Pickett, rightfully upset as he reflected on what transpired, questioned the moral and ethics of the school board as a result of how he was treated, specifically Dr. Alison Myers.
“They proved that they’re more interested in securing their six figure jobs than they are protecting the children that they’re mandated to protect,” Pickett said. “When I began the speech, I was pretty calm, I think I even joked with them in the very beginning, but this is a situation that is very troubling as a parent. Every time I talk about it, it reminds me that my child was punched by a member of the Cape Henlopen School District, and they’re doing nothing about it. So, to be cut off by a woman with a special education background, a woman who has her own children, and I’m sure she’s a wonderful mother, but she has proven that she doesn’t care about my kids and that tells me that she’s probably not in the position that she needs to be in.”
Pickett and his family are calling on the school board to investigate the incident and find out if this happened to their daughter more than the one time they’re aware of, and if the aide abused other children. So far, the district has refused to say whether or not they’re investigating.
We reached out to the Cape Henlopen School District and were issued the following response from Communications Coordinator, Stephanie DeMalto:
“In response to your May 13, 2022 email, you have requested information pertaining to the conduct of a former employee and related matters. We take the safety of all of our students very seriously and hold all of our employees to the highest of standards. The individual involved is no longer an employee of the District. Under Delaware law, even former employees have privacy rights, and thus we cannot provide further comment.“
In a follow-up response, we formally requested an interview with Superintendent Bob Fulton and are awaiting a response.
Delaware State Police released the identity of the bus aide who was arrested and charged in connection with the incident.
According to the Delaware State Police Department, the incident occurred on January 21, 2022 when Clar Ellen Branca, a now former bus monitor for the Cape Henlopen School District, struck an eight-year-old girl in the head on a school bus.
A warrant for Branca’s arrest was drafted on March 18 after the school resource officer at Milton Elementary School where the student attends reviewed the case with the Attorney General’s Office.
Branca turned herself in to State Police on March 21 and was charged with Offensive Touching and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, both misdemeanors. The case is still pending adjudication at this time.
This remains a developing story that TV Delmarva continues to investigate.
