By Craig Anderson

DOVER — Vehicle accidents abounded, power was lost and crews worked to make roads passable.

Those were main themes as a heavy snowstorm hit Delaware on Monday.

As of 5 p.m., Delaware State Police reported that there had been 45 property damage accidents in Kent County, five personal injury accidents and 76 disabled vehicles. There were 48 property damage accidents in Sussex County, eight personal injury accidents and 56 disabled vehicles.

New Castle County had lower numbers, including 20 property damage accidents and 12 disabled vehicles. No personal injury accidents occurred, DSP said.

A fatal crash north of Felton came after a vehicle traveled off Firetower Road for unknown reasons at approximately 6:55 a.m. A 55-year-old Felton man was driving an eastbound 2003 Jeep Cherokee that entered a ditch and traveled a short distance before colliding with a large tree just east of Berrytown Road, DSP said.

The driver was not properly restrained and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. Identification is pending notification to next of kin.

The roadway was closed for approximately three hours for the investigation to be completed.

This collision remains under investigation by the DSP Troop 3 Collision Reconstruction Unit. Anyone with information regarding the crash is asked to contact Cpl/3 William Booth by calling 302-697-4454.

At 6:30 p.m. just over 1,600 Delaware Electric Cooperative members were without power, the most coming in areas of Georgetown, Seaford, Harrington, and Laurel. About 2% of DEC members were affected, according to its website.

According to spokesman Jeremy Tucker earlier in the day, all available crews were working to remove trees from the lines and to replace equipment damaged by falling trees.

Challenges abounded, however, due to snow packed roadways that stymied DEC’s efforts to reach problem areas. Mr. Tucker said earlier in the day that all available crews were working to remove trees from the lines and to replace equipment damaged by falling trees.

Mr. Tucker said that “unfortunately, some members will not have power restored tonight or through part of (Tuesday).”

The spokesman added that “There was a bullseye of heavy snow on our territory.”

At 2:30 p.m. the DEC reported that about 4,000 members across the service area were without power. There had been about 2,000 members without power at around 12:30 p.m., Mr. Tucker said.

Chesapeake Utilities spokeswoman Brianna Patterson said there had been no power outages as of 5:30 p.m.

“We are continuing to monitor the weather and make sure our crews are prepared,” she said.

On Monday morning, Delaware Department of Transportation spokesman C.R. McLeod noted that more than five inches of snow had fallen in some areas and that “Road conditions in Kent County are very poor and unnecessary travel is not advised.”

Mid-morning the conditions ranged around the state. Mr. McLeod said western and central Sussex County saw primarily snow-covered and slushy roads, with slushy roads in the Lewes/Rehoboth areas and roads south of Dewey Beach were mainly wet.

“While roads south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal were beginning to see more covered roads. But north of Route 40, roads are mostly still wet,” he said.

“DelDOT will be focusing on keeping primary roads passable through the duration of the storm. Other roads, especially in Kent and western Sussex, are going to be snow covered and travel will be very difficult.”

Milford police spokesman Sgt. Robert Masten said at least two electrical poles had been knocked down, including one by a tree.

“Roadways are in poor shape and we’re dealing with multiple vehicles sliding off roadways and a few crashes,” Sgt. Masten said.

Beebe Healthcare announced that the diagnostic testing scheduling testing phone line for the outpatient building in Lewes — 302-645-3278 — was offline due to a loss of power.

Joining police officers, linemen and road crews, first responders were at the ready Monday.

At just after noon, two crews at the Little Creek Volunteer Fire Company were ready to mobilize if needed, Fire Chief Scott Bundek said. At one point, an ambulance responded to a cardiac arrest incident, and a company truck cleared the road with a plow to allow for travel.

While the truck cleared other roadways as well, Mr. Bundek said the possibility of accidents typically increase “when things lighten up and people begin moving again.”

There was minor flooding in some areas of Little Creek, but “nothing major but enough to be annoying.”

In Dover, 18 members stood at the ready at the fire station. Fire Chief David Carey said the department was staffed with crews beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday and tentatively until 6 p.m. Tuesday, depending on the weather conditions.

The department responded to three non-snow-related calls in the morning, Chief Carey said. Members spent time rearranging equipment on some vehicles as they waited for more potential incidents (snow-related or otherwise), cleaned the building and planned to have training exercises in the afternoon.

Crews were staffing all three Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company stations, and Capt. Kent Swarts said trucks were accompanying EMS vehicles on all calls.

The fire department had responded to an automobile accident, Capt. Swarts said at around 3:15 p.m.