Man jailed for wrong-way driving
A Butler County man was arrested Monday night by state police for allegedly driving the wrong way on the often heavily traveled ramp from Interstate 79 southbound to Racetrack Road in Chartiers Township.
Raymond L. Crocker Jr., 53, of Slippery Rock, was spotted driving his pickup truck the wrong way on the ramp about 10 p.m., according to police. State Police Cpl. Mark Bardzil was driving south on the interstate near the Racetrack exit, and as he approached he spotted a truck that had stopped on the shoulder of the ramp facing north on the southbound side after traveling the full length of the exit.
Bardzil called in the incident to Troop B’s Washington station and learned that the dispatchers had just received multiple calls of a truck driving the wrong way on the off-ramp. One driver told Bardzil that she was getting off the highway at the ramp when she saw the truck driving the wrong way up the ramp at her.
When Bardzil approached the truck, Crocker allegedly fumbled through his wallet, handing the corporal his credit card instead of his driver’s license several times. Crocker never produced the vehicle registration or insurance information, police said.
The corporal indicated in court documents that Crocker smelled of alcohol, but the Slippery Rock man refused to submit to a blood-alcohol test.
Crocker was arraigned before District Judge Gary Havelka on charges of causing or risking a catastrophe, driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless endangerment, driving the wrong way and careless driving. He was placed in Washington County jail on $5,000 bond.
He is scheduled for a Dec. 8 preliminary hearing before District Judge David Mark.