Wilmington renames street to honor principal killed in motorcycle crash

Wilmington officials gathered in front of Warner Elementary School on Thursday to rename a portion of West 18th Street for the school’s former Principal Terrance Newton.

Newton rose from Wilmington’s East Side streets to become a school leader and an advocate for many of the children he came across.

He died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash in March.

Mayor Mike Purzycki was joined by City Council President Trippi Congo; Red Clay School District Superintendent Dorrell Green; acting Warner Elementary School Principal Kimberly Bruinton; Newton’s widow, Paula; and children from Warner Elementary for the street renaming.

Green told Delaware Online/The News Journal that Newton’s life experiences helped shape how he led his students with compassion and support programs for them.

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“Immediately upon meeting him when he was assistant principal at H.B. du Pont Middle School, I had a vision for him helping serve, support and lead students within the city of Wilmington,” Green said.

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Newton was an assistant principal at Skyline Middle School in Pike Creek when the vacancy at Warner occurred. Following his instinct and vision, Green said he called Newton to tell him he was going to be Warner’s principal.

Reporter Esteban Para contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Wilmington renames portion of West 18th Street for Terrance Newton