Police say RAV4 reached 92 mph before crashing

By Hunter Hine, Staff Writer

(May 18, 2023) An 8-year-old was taken to the hospital after being injured in a car accident at South Main Street and Tripoli Street near Stephen Decatur Park in Berlin around 8:30 p.m. last Friday.

The driver, Tyneshia Wallace, 23, of Salisbury, received seven traffic citations after speeding 92 mph down Main Street and crashing the 2019 Toyota RAV4 into a concrete wall along a residential yard, according to Lt. Robert Fisher of the Berlin Police Department.

On the list of charges are speeding, driving a vehicle in excess of reasonable and prudent speed on a highway, negligent driving, reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, driving violation of a restricted license requirement and failure to control speed to avoid a collision, Fisher said.

A sheriff’s deputy first saw the car speeding down Main Street between Cheers Beer, Wine and Spirits and Route 50. The Toyota then headed into town.

The deputy turned around and followed the path of the car without starting a pursuit or conducting a traffic stop, Fisher said.

Berlin resident Adam Davis and his family witnessed the crash while walking south down Main Street, coming home from the Atlantic Hotel. The concrete wall that the Toyota struck belongs to Davis’ neighbor who lives on the other side of the entrance to Tripoli Street.

As Davis walked past the Berlin Welcome Center, the car flew by at what he estimated to be 60 mph or more.

“We could feel the woosh of air rushing past us,” Davis said.

As the car approached the intersection of South Main Street and Tripoli Street, about 100 yards ahead of Davis, it slammed on the brakes, he said. Davis reported that he could hear the screeching tires.

The front of the RAV4 crashed into the wall and bounced back about 15 feet upon impact, Davis said.

A police officer in the parking lot of Buckingham Presbyterian Church witnessed the crash and responded.

Davis approached the car to see if its occupants needed help. The first person to get out of the car was the 8-year-old child who was screaming and crying, Davis said.

The responding police officer then took over the scene.

“I don’t know why they were going so fast or doing that through downtown,” Davis said.

The sheriff’s deputy made it to the accident and told the officer they had registered the car speeding at 92 mph.

There were four people in the car in total, but the 8-year-old, who was sitting in the back passenger seat, was the only one injured, Fisher said.

The Toyota had Delaware plates and was not registered to Wallace.