By Craig Anderson

DOVER - Four motorists suffered minor injuries in a multi-vehicle crash that closed down a portion of Del. 1 northbound for roughly 2 1/2 hours early Tuesday, authorities said.

According to Delaware State Police spokeswoman Master Cpl. Heather Pepper, the chain-reaction incident event began at approximately 5:43 a.m. when a Hyundai Elantra driven by a 43-year-old Dover man struck the rear of a Chevrolet Impala driven by a 63-year-old Georgetown man.

The driver lost control of the Elantra, police said, and it traveled into the path of a Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by a 28-year-old Tennessee man. A collision occurred and the Elantra spun on the roadway and came to a stop.

At that point, police said an International commercial truck driven by a 46-year-old Philadelphia, Pa. man careened out of control after striking the Elantra, hit the median barrier and flipped onto its side.

A Ford Explorer driven by a 54-year-old Dover woman then possibly struck debris from the collision, police said.

The driver of the Elantra was cited for inattentive driving and transported by EMS to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The drivers of the Impala, milk truck and Explorer all suffered minor injuries and were transported by EMS to an area hospital, according to Cpl. Pepper.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control “came out to empty the milk from the truck tank before the truck was flipped upright as preventative measures,” Cpl. Pepper said.

The Delaware Department of Transportation handled traffic control, spokesman C.R. McLeod said, all vehicles were directed off of Del. 1 at Exit 104 to north Dover.