Suspected Impaired Driver Arrested after Driving Wrong-Way On Route 13, Colliding With Trooper’s Vehicle In Wicomico County

(SALISBURY, MD) – Maryland State Police arrested and charged a Cambridge man on Saturday night after he drove the wrong way on U.S. Route 13 for several miles before colliding with a Maryland State Police patrol vehicle.

The driver of a Ford F-250, identified as Joshua Jorette, 36, of Cambridge, Maryland, was arrested on the scene. He is charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, and other related charges. He is being held at the Wicomico County Detention Center.

A Maryland State Trooper, assigned to the Salisbury Barrack, was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries and has since been released. The driver and a passenger in a Ford Expedition involved in the crash, a 66-year-old male and a 64-year-old female, were also transported by ambulance to a local hospital.

Shortly before 7:30 p.m. yesterday, the Maryland State Police Salisbury Barrack received multiple reports of a Ford pickup truck traveling north in the southbound lanes of the Salisbury Bypass (U.S. Route 13). A trooper near the Johnson Road overpass located the vehicle and attempted to intercept it, but the pickup truck continued northbound and nearly struck his patrol vehicle. The trooper continued to follow the pickup truck and attempted to make another traffic stop. The vehicle then continued to flee north.

A second trooper responding to the incident observed multiple stationary vehicles and their occupants on the shoulder just north of the pickup truck’s location in the area of U.S. Route 13 at Route 50. Recognizing the extreme danger posed to the motorists and pedestrians behind him, the second trooper maneuvered his patrol vehicle directly in the path of the pickup truck driver in another attempt to stop the vehicle. Jorette attempted to maneuver around the patrol vehicle, but the trooper was able to absorb the impact. The crash caused the Ford to spin and strike a Ford Expedition before becoming inoperable.

The investigation remains active and ongoing.