Tuesday evening in Sussex County turned tragic when Paul Lawson went out for a ride on his Harley-Davidson. The 48-year-old Harbeson resident was heading south down Coastal Highway near Lewes around 6:10 p.m. on September 1. He never made it home.
Friends and neighbors in Harbeson knew Lawson as a steady presence around town. What started as an ordinary late-summer ride ended in an instant at the intersection of Coastal Highway and Bay Crossing Boulevard. State police say an oncoming vehicle turned directly into his path, leaving him no room to react.
Investigators say a Kia Sorento traveling north on Coastal Highway pulled into the turn lane near Bay Crossing Boulevard. The driver, a 77-year-old woman visiting from New Berlin, Pennsylvania, attempted to make a U-turn across the southbound lanes.
Lawson was riding in the far-left southbound lane when the SUV cut across the highway. His motorcycle struck the passenger side of the Kia, throwing him onto the pavement. First responders rushed to the scene and transported Lawson to a nearby hospital, but doctors could not save him.
The 77-year-old driver and her two passengers walked away from the collision without any injuries. For hours after the crash, emergency crews kept the northbound and southbound lanes of Coastal Highway shut down to gather evidence and clear the scene.
The Delaware State Police Troop 7 Collision Reconstruction Unit is still investigating why the driver attempted the turn across oncoming traffic. Troopers are asking anyone who was driving along Coastal Highway near Bay Crossing Boulevard around 6:10 p.m. to contact investigators.
For Lawson’s family and friends back in Harbeson, the loss leaves a sudden and painful void. A routine evening ride on a familiar local road ended a life far too soon, leaving a tight-knit community grieving a friend and neighbor.
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