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Eliassaint Aussideu, 39, of Salisbury, was pronounced dead at the scene of a chain-reaction crash in Wicomico County when a truck drove into him and the side of a GMC Acadia that was being used to give his disabled Kia a jump start.
The crash was reported shortly before 3:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 13 on Gumboro Road in Gumboro.
Aussideu’s Kia Forte became disabled on Saturday morning, and he was getting a jump, when a 2000 Chevrolet Express van with 12 passengers pulled in front to offer an assist, officials said.
The initial investigation determined that a Freightliner tractor-trailer being driven by 61-year-old Parsonsburg resident Rodney Powell - drove into the back of Aussideu's Kia and the Acadia as the jump was being initiated.
After being struck, police say that the vehicles then struck the van, causing more than a dozen injuries.
Joseus Gerlie, 34, of Fruitland Maryland, one of the passengers in the Acadia being driven by Salisbury resident Geraldine Phauord, 37, had to airlifted to Johns Hopkins Medical Center, though her condition was not known on Sunday afternoon.
In total, 15 other people were treated at the scene by paramedics from multiple agencies and were transported by various ambulances to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional Hospital in Salisbury.
According to the police, investigators believe that the driver and passengers were all inside of their vehicles when the crash took place.
The incident remains under investigation.
A member of the Wicomico County State’s Attorney has been briefed by officials, and it will later be presented for a review pending the outcome of the investigation.
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