Name: Volunteer firefighter stops to help at crash scene, fatally hit in Wilmington, police say
Uploaded: 2021-08-23T13:14:08-04:00
Channel: Hank Flynn
Description: Cecilia Escobar-Duplan was killed on Interstate 95 in Wilmington early Sunday when she got out of her car to help at a crash scene, officials said.

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Volunteer firefighter stops to help at crash scene, fatally hit in Wilmington, police say

Cecilia Escobar-Duplan was killed on Interstate 95 in Wilmington early Sunday when she got out of her car to help at a crash scene, officials said.

WILMINGTON, Del. - A West Chester University security officer and firefighter was killed on Interstate 95 in Wilmington early Sunday when she got out of her car to help at a crash scene, officials said.

University and fire officials identified the 25-year-old woman as Cecilia Escobar-Duplan.

Escobar-Duplan was driving home from her security shift when she came upon a crash, university police said. She pulled onto an off-ramp and walked into the lane where a Jeep crashed in a construction zone, where she was assisting when a pickup truck hit her, Delaware State Police. Escobar-Duplan died at a hospital and the Jeep driver, who had minor injuries, was treated and released, officials said.

Cecilia Escobar-Duplan (Family photo)

Weather conditions and lighting kept the pickup driver from seeing the crash ahead, police said. Impairment wasn’t a factor, police said.

Escobar-Duplan joined the Wilmington Manor Fire Company in 2018, the company said. She received firefighting and basic medical training, and was "actively riding the ambulance as an apprentice." Escobar-Duplan worked as a security guard at West Chester University, where she was studying criminal justice, the company said.

In a statement, university police said Escobar-Duplan had been with the department since 2018.

"Those of us that knew Cecilia know that this is exactly the kind of person she was," the department said. "Cecilia would always go out of her way to help anyone and everyone in need!"