By Jeff Brown
Dover Post
DOVER, Del. — A Dover police officer and a police cadet were killed early Sunday morning when their vehicle drove off the side of a road in Kent County.
The men were identified by Delaware State Police spokesman Master Cpl. Gary Fournier as Robert E. DaFonte, 23, of Hartly and James D. Watts, 22, of Camden.
Dover police spokesman Master Cpl. Mark Hoffman later confirmed the men’s identities, saying DaFonte was a patrolman who had been with the force for about two years. Watts was a member of the department’s Special Enforcement Cadet Unit.
The crash took place at 4:05 a.m. Feb. 27 on Hazlettville Road, east of Nault Road, Fournier said.
DaFonte was driving a 2016 Jeep Wrangler westbound on Hazlettville Road when he failed to take a sharp right curve and traveled off the south side of the roadway. The Jeep went down a short embankment and hit a utility pole on the driver’s side door. It continued onward, overturning and throwing Watts from the passenger seat before landing on the passenger side.
DaFonte was wearing his seatbelt but was pronounced dead at the scene. Watts, who was not restrained, also died at the scene.
Deputy Chief of Police Marvin Mailey spoke for the department in a press release issued at about 11 a.m.
“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we announce the tragic loss of two members of the Dover Police Department family,” Mailey wrote. “Officer Robert DaFonte and Cadet James Watts were outstanding employees and were committed to serving the citizens of Dover.
“As we mourn the loss of our fellow officer and cadet, we ask the community to keep their families and the members of the Dover Police Department in your thoughts”
DaFonte was the first Dover active officer to die in more than 26 years.
On Sept. 29, 1990, off-duty motorcycle officer Alan Walth, 29, was killed when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a car on Del. Route 8; on June 7, 1984, Patrolman 1st Class Carlton E. “Gene” Phillips Jr., 38, was killed when his Jeep overturned after colliding with a car on US Route 113A, south of Dover; Lt. Lionel C. Gilliam, 60, died of a heart attack Nov. 18, 1968, while at home.
Cpl. Francis Schneible, 47, died Dec. 20, 1993, of injuries that were a direct result of his being critically wounded after being shot in the stomach at close range in October 1969.
The Delaware State Police, which has jurisdiction in this case, is continuing its investigation into the crash.
There was no evidence at the scene that would indicate alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash, Fournier said. As is standard procedure in crashes involving fatalities, toxicology tests will be conducted by the Delaware Division of Forensic Science, he said
The investigation is on-going.
A portion of Hazlettville Road for about three hours.
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