The motorcyclist who hit and killed 18-year-old Noelia Gomez, a first-year University of Delaware student and New Jersey native, has been arrested and charged in her death.
Brian Briddle was taken into custody late Thursday at his home in Newark, Del., police announced Friday morning. He’s facing a series of charges in connection with the deadly crash, including second-degree murder, possession of a deadly weapon during a felony, disregarding an officer’s signal, driving without a special license and operating an unregistered vehicle, NBC Philadelphia reported.
Gomez had only just finished her first day of classes when she was hit by a speeding motorcyclist before midnight on Tuesday. She was out with friends and police said she’d been moving through a crosswalk on East Main Street near North College Avenue at the time.
Bystanders who witnessed the collision administered CPR and attempted to provide life-saving measures, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. Gomez was pronounced dead on the scene.
Just prior to the crash, a university police officer attempted to stop a motorcyclist for a traffic offense some three blocks away from the scene. The officer initially gave chase when he failed to pull over, but abandoned the pursuit given the dangerous high rates of speed.
Gomez, who is from Clark, was struck less than a minute later, police said.
Upon impact, police said Briddle was flung from his motorcycle, which also hit four more people and a light pole before coming to a stop. Three of the pedestrians suffered minor injuries. They declined to be taken to a hospital while the fourth did seek out medical treatment, police said.
Briddle was ordered held after he failed to post $362,005 in bail. He is being sent to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing.