The Delaware State Police are investigating an apparent suicide that resulted in the death of a 35-year-old Georgetown man. Troopers responded to a pedestrian crash on June 10, at Gravel Hill Road (Route 30) just south of Zoar Road at approximately 12:19 p.m.
Investigators said a 2005 Peterbilt Tractor-Trailer, operated by Clifford Nolt, 46 of Lititz, Pa., was traveling southbound on Route 30. Investigators learned a 35-year-old male subject was standing on the southbound shoulder and when the truck approached, police said he ran directly in front of it, resulting in his death.
During the investigation, troopers learned the deceased man was actually the focus of another investigation reported to police earlier in the day: troopers responded to a Lewes area business at 11:43 a.m. after 911 was called, reporting that a man was suicidal. As that investigation was underway, a general broadcast was distributed to all police officers to be on the lookout for the deceased man and his vehicle.
Troopers located the deceased man’s vehicle parked in a church parking lot adjacent to the crash scene. The crash remains under investigation. The operator of the tractor trailer, who was wearing a seatbelt, was not injured. Alcohol was not a factor on Nolt’s part.
