Tractor-Trailer Driver Arrested For Fleeing Police, Traveling In Wrong Direction On I-95
EDGEWOOD, Md. (WJZ) -- Maryland State Police announced Monday that a tractor-trailer driver has been arrested after he traveled in the wrong direction while fleeing from police on I-95.
Maurice Cooper, 37, of Haverhill, Florida was taken into custody without incident. He faces attempted second-degree murder, first and second-degree assault, assault of a law enforcement officer, theft and other related traffic charges.
Officials said just before 12:30 p.m., troopers responded to the Maryland House Travel Plaza for a reported theft. There, they found a victim who told police his jacket and keys were stolen while he was inside the travel plaza. The victim notified police the suspect was the driver of a specific tractor-trailer.
Police were advised of a tractor exiting the travel plaza on the wrong side. The vehicle was traveling south in the northbound lanes of I-95, driving against traffic. Troopers began to follow the tractor-trailer in an attempt to stop the driver while calling the barrack to request additional assistance.
Officials said after nearly three miles, the driver stopped on the fast shoulder in an active work zone where several highway workers were working.
According to authorities, through an open passenger side window, the trooper made several verbal requests for the driver to shift the truck into park and hand over his keys. The driver instead accelerated into the northbound lanes of I-95, again traveling south against northbound traffic.
As the driver continued to accelerate after failing to listen to commands, the trooper was thrown from the truck onto the highway. He suffered minor injuries and refused medical treatment at the scene.
Preliminary information shows the driver continued to drive against traffic for nearly four more miles and crossed all lanes of northbound I-95 to the slow shoulder into a construction zone where he made a U-turn and continued north on I-95.
An off-duty police officer, aware of the ongoing incident, followed the tractor-trailer as it exited off of I-95.
A helicopter from the Baltimore County Police Department responded to assist and found the tractor-trailer as it pulled into a motel parking lot in Edgewood. The driver then fled on foot into a wooded area behind the motel, according to witnesses.
During the search of the area, police along with a K-9 from the Harford County Sheriff's Office tracked the suspect. The suspect was found along the wood line and taken into custody.
There were no reported crashes due to the tractor-trailer driving against traffic nor were any injuries sustained during the incident.
Cooper is currently awaiting an initial appearance before a court commissioner in Harford County.
