Bel Air Couple Killed in Fiery Five-Vehicle Crash on Delaware’s Coastal Highway
The Friday afternoon commute on Delaware’s busy Coastal Highway turned deadly when a loaded Peterbilt dump truck plowed into slowing traffic, triggering a chain-reaction crash that killed a Bel Air couple and injured several others. The crash occurred around 2:30 p.m. on November 7, 2025, along U.S. Route 1 just south of Hudson Road near Lewes.
According to Delaware State Police, traffic had been slowing in the southbound lanes—a routine delay that happens countless times each day. But this time, tragedy struck when a 27-year-old Wilmington man driving a Peterbilt dump truck in the right lane apparently failed to notice or react in time. Investigators say his fully loaded vehicle slammed into the rear of a Ford Edge that had nearly stopped.
Inside the Ford were Charlene and Albert Broccolo, residents of Bel Air, Maryland, who were returning home from a quiet day on the coast. The impact was catastrophic. The Ford was launched forward, smashing into a Nissan Altima, which then struck a BMW X2, which in turn collided with a BMW 135i. Within seconds, four cars were crushed in a violent sequence of impacts that shut down the highway for the entire evening rush hour.
Emergency responders from Lewes Fire Department and Sussex County paramedics rushed to the scene, but the damage had already been done. Sixty-four-year-old Albert Broccolo died at the scene, while his wife Charlene, 62, was transported to Beebe Healthcare in critical condition. Despite the efforts of medical staff, she succumbed to her injuries later that evening.
Friends and neighbors in Bel Air described the Broccolos as “the kind of people who made everywhere they went a little brighter,” a couple deeply involved in their church and community. They were remembered for their kindness, generosity, and love for their family.
The three other drivers involved in the collision—a 57-year-old man from Millsboro, a 75-year-old woman from Milton, and the dump truck’s driver—were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. A 74-year-old man driving the final vehicle in the chain miraculously escaped serious harm and declined medical treatment.
For nearly five hours, Delaware State Police Troop 7’s Collision Reconstruction Unit worked at the crash site, meticulously measuring skid marks, documenting impact patterns, and collecting debris. Investigators are still trying to determine whether mechanical failure, driver distraction, or another factor caused the dump truck driver’s apparent failure to stop. As of Saturday, no charges had been filed, and authorities have not released the driver’s name.
By nightfall, the wreckage had been cleared, but the scars on the highway—and in the hearts of those who knew the Broccolos—remained. The crash serves as a grim reminder of how quickly an ordinary commute can turn fatal. A moment’s inattention, investigators say, can erase entire lives in an instant.
As police continue to piece together what went wrong, the Bel Air community mourns a couple remembered not for the way they died, but for the warmth and light they brought to those around them.