Man crushed to death in accident at auto repair shop in Newark

A man is dead and State Police are investigating after an accident at a repair shop in Newark.

Troopers say around 9:30 Friday night, 31-year-old Nicholas Njenga of Middletown and another employee at Savanna Auto Care were working on the hydraulic lift gate of a company truck. Troopers say Njenga was on the lift gate when the other employee went under the truck to do some troubleshooting. That’s when the lift gate started to operate, and Njenga was pinned between the gate and the truck. He died from his injuries at Christiana Hospital. The accident is still under investigation by State Police.

DSP News Release: Detectives Investigate Accidental Death

Location: Savanna Auto Care, 74 Albe Drive, Newark, DE

Date of Occurrence:  Friday, April 13, 2012 at 9:30 p.m.

Victim:

• Nicholas P. Njenga, 31, Middletown, DE

Resume: 

Newark, DE- Delaware State Police detectives are investigating the accidental death of a Middletown man that occurred Friday night. 

The incident happened at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Friday (4/13) as Nicholas Njenga and a second subject were working on the hydraulic lift gate of a truck owned by Savanna Auto Care located in the unit block of Albe Drive in Newark. Detectives learned that as the victim was on top of the lift gate, the second subject crawled under the truck in order to troubleshoot a new hydraulic pump that the two had just installed. It was at this time that the hydraulic pump activated which caused the lift gate to rise. Nicholas Njenga was then pinned in between the gate and the truck. He was subsequently removed from the scene by EMS and transported to the Christiana Hospital Trauma Center where he succumbed to his injuries.

This incident remains under investigation by the Delaware State Police