Philadelphia

Naked Wrong-Way Driver Crashes on I-95 After Leading Police on Multi-State Chase, Officials Say

Chase causes a mess on I-95 in Southwest Philadelphia.

What to Know

  • A naked wrong-way driver crashed on I-95 in Southwest Philadelphia following a multi-state chase, police said.
  • The pursuit started in Delaware and then ended when state police used spiked strips on I-95 in Essington.
  • The driver, identified as Kyle Merena, was taken into custody for evaluation, Delaware State Police said.

A naked wrong-way driver crashed on Interstate 95 in Southwest Philadelphia following a multi-state chase, police said.

Delaware State Police first spotted the suspect, later identified as Kyle Merena of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, driving north in the southbound lanes of I-95 in Delaware Wednesday night around 7:15. The 29-year-old driver failed to stop when troopers tried to pull him over and the chase began, Delaware State Police said.

The driver pulled into the Delaware Service Plaza and onto the northbound lanes before crossing the grass median back into the southbound lanes, Delaware police said.

The driver then continued traveling the wrong way into Pennsylvania where Pennsylvania State Police took over the pursuit, police said. The troopers deployed spike strips that caused the suspect's vehicle to crash into a Pennsylvania state police vehicle in Essington, police said.

Merena was taken into custody and is being evaluated at a local hospital. Police were in the process Thursday of charging him with reckless endangerment, disregarding a police officer and multiple traffic-related offenses, Delaware State Police said.

The state trooper in the vehicle that was struck was not injured.

All southbound lanes on I-95 were closed between Exit 12A/12B: PA 291 Cargo City/Philadelphia International Airport and Exit 9B/9A: PA 420-Prospect Park/Essington. Lanes later reopened, however.

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