Police: UPS truck driver fell asleep prior to crash on I-95 in Delaware

NEWPORT, Del. (WPVI) -- Delaware State Police investigators say the driver of a UPS tractor trailer had fallen asleep at the wheel prior to crashing on I-95 in Newport Friday morning.

The crash happened at 4:08 a.m. Friday in the southbound lanes north of the Basin Road exit (Exit 5B).

Preliminary investigation indicates that 45-year-old Phillip Bates of York, Pennsylvania was traveling from I-295 southbound, merging onto I-95 southbound, when the tractor-trailer traveled off of the roadway and onto the right shoulder of the I-295 merge.

The passenger side of the truck struck the guardrail as it continued southbound, before overturning onto its left side and sliding to a stop, crossing and blocking the I-95 southbound lanes.

State police say a 2010 Mercedes Benz sedan operated by 80-year-old Wai Phoon of Berwyn, Pa. was traveling southbound on I-95 when it struck the under carriage of the overturned tractor trailer.

It took firefighters and EMS personnel approximately one hour to extricate Bates from the wreckage.

Both Bates and Phoon were transported to the Christiana Trauma Center with non-life threatening injuries.

Bates was issued a traffic citation for Inattentive Driving. Delaware State Police are continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.

The southbound lanes of I-95 were closed for approximately 4 hours while the crash was investigated and cleared. However, all lanes on the highway have since reopened.