Last updated May 15 at 5:40 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A police chase from Wilmington, Delaware, to Chester, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday followed a trail of chaos, ending in gunfire, property damage and, ultimately, a young woman’s death.
Just before noon, Wilmington police tried to take into custody 23-year-old Yazmyn Stewart, wanted in connection with a Dec. 2, 2023, shooting incident in downtown Wilmington, according to officials. Stewart evaded police by driving off, ramming several police vehicles with her car before fleeing north on I-95, according to Wilmington police.
Wilmington police and Delaware State Police followed the woman into Pennsylvania. She crashed her car in Chichester, where she exchanged gunfire with two Delaware state troopers.
She got access to a second car, a dark-colored SUV, and drove off again, into the City of Chester, where she crashed near a home under construction at 12th and Kerlin streets. Leaving the second vehicle on its side, surrounded by mangled fencing in front of the property, she invaded a home and gained access to a third vehicle, a maroon sedan, according to Wilmington police.
She attempted again to evade arrest by driving away, say police, but she was stopped by gunfire from three Wilmington police officers, five Delaware state troopers, one Chester police officer, and one member of the Trainer Borough Police Department.
“So what we have here, you have one vehicle overturned, that's the vehicle that was from the carjacking. And then you have another vehicle that's crashed here, also,” said City of Chester Police Commissioner Steven Gretsky.
Stewart ultimately died from her injuries.
A woman named Candy Chapman, who spoke with KYW Newsradio newsgathering partner NBC10, said Stewart was her daughter.
“She was one person. A young beautiful Black lady and they shot her car up.”
NBC10 had its helicopter SkyForce 10 hovering over the scene. A huge law enforcement response could be seen swarming the area, and a nearby section of I-95, which was closed to traffic in both directions for about an hour.
From the aerial view, armored S.W.A.T. vehicles could be seen, as well as law enforcement officers equipped with shields, guns drawn, as they approached the bullet-riddled sedan. Stewart’s body was pulled from the car and covered with a sheet.
Officers could be seen entering a home nearby. They left that home and then returned a short time later.
One Wilmington police officer was transported to the hospital for evaluation of a minor injury. There are no other known injuries to first responders or members of the public.
This incident is under investigation by the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office. Police were on the scene in the neighborhood for hours after the dramatic incident.
The Wilmington police officers who fired their service weapons are on administrative duty pending the outcome of an investigation by the WPD Criminal Investigations Division and the Office of Professional Standards.