Brian Briddle, 27, of Newark, was sentenced following his guilty plea in the death of Noelia Gomez, a University of Delaware freshman who was struck and killed in a car wreck last year.
Briddle, who was originally charged with murder and multiple related offenses, accepted a guilty plea and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment that will keep him confined until July 2039.
The allegations come from an incident on August 27, 2024, when a University of Delaware police officer attempted to stop a motorcycle on East Main Street shortly before midnight. Briddle, driving the motorcycle, escaped at high speed. The officer turned off his emergency lights and did not pursue, but the biker struck Gomez moments later as she crossed West Main Street at a crosswalk near North College Avenue.
The impact instantly claimed Gomez’s life. Briddle was flung from the motorcycle, which continued onto the pavement, injuring four more pedestrians and damaging a light post. Several people sustained minor to non-life-threatening injuries.
Briddle was arrested the next day and charged with second-degree murder, possessing a deadly weapon while committing a felony, disregarding a police officer’s signal, and other traffic infractions. He was being jailed at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington on more than $362,000 cash bail while awaiting trial.
Briddle is now due to remain jailed for nearly 14 years after entering his guilty plea and being sentenced, with his release date set for July 2039, according to court records.
