Car going the wrong way on the interstate for miles attempts to evade Sheriff Pace and Deputies

A vehicle rushing the wrong way on Interstate 20 caused several cars to leave the roadway before attempting to escape on 61 North where they were stopped by Sheriff Pace and Deputies.

Just before 11 p.m. calls started coming into 911 reporting a vehicle going the wrong way on Interstate 20. A small gray 4-door (later identified as a 2006 Ford 500) was reported by numerous callers to be driving westbound in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 20. The first calls reported the vehicle westbound past the Flowers exit with one caller estimating their speed to be 90 mph. The vehicle soon passed the Bovina exit causing several vehicles to swerve to either side of the roadway in an effort to avoid a collision with the errant vehicle.

As the calls kept coming in Sheriff Pace and WC-35, Chreka Clark, got onto the eastbound lanes of Interstate 20 at the 61 exits and stopped oncoming traffic, effectively shutting down that side of the Interstate. Clark stayed at that location and blocked traffic as the Sheriff proceeded east in the westbound lane in an effort to make contact with the errant vehicle. Almost immediately thereafter the Sheriff could be heard saying, “The vehicle is in view. I’ve got a visual on the vehicle.”

The Sheriff attempted to stop the vehicle by blocking the highway with his truck. The driver recklessly swerved past the Sheriff’s truck and sped away at a high rate of speed. When the driver approached the exit to 61 North they, presumably, saw Deputy Clark’s vehicle blocking traffic. The driver then did a u-turn, crossed the interstate and headed up the ramp from Interstate 20 to 61 North. Sheriff Pace had caught up to the vehicle by this point and was able to give dispatchers the Alabama license plate number out of Baldwin County and a description of the driver, who appeared to be a white female with dark hair in their 30s.

As the vehicle raced north on 61, Sgt. Silento McMorris and Deputy Thomas McBride joined the chase and were able to place themselves directly behind the suspect vehicle while the Sheriff was in the right-hand lane of the northbound side and directly beside the fleeing car. The Sheriff and Deputies maneuvered to box the driver in. In an attempt to avoid being boxed in the driver switched lanes from the left to the right lane giving Sheriff Pace the opportunity to bump the left rear quarter panel of the gray 4-door with the right front bumper of his truck.

The gray Ford sedan after being blocked in by the Sheriff and his Deputies. The damage on the right side of the Ford sedan was there prior to the vehicle being stopped. (Photo by David Day)

This caused the tail of the Ford sedan to take a hard skid to the right. Almost immediately after contact the driver stopped the vehicle and threw her hands out the window as deputies quickly blocked the vehicle in. The chase terminated at the exit to Culkin road, right in front of Helping Hand pharmacy. A total of 11 law enforcement vehicles from the city and county were at the scene when the Vicksburg Daily News arrived.

Miraculously, no one was injured but Fire Medic 30 was called to the scene to ensure the driver was uninjured. The driver was then turned back over to the Sheriff’s department to be held in the Warren County jail where they will face numerous charges including felony eluding. They will be held without bond and a search warrant for a blood sample was obtained.

At the time of this report, it remains unclear why she chose to go the wrong way or where she entered the Interstate.

Since the Sheriff’s truck made physical contact with the suspect vehicle, he requested the Highway Patrol be called in to do the accident report.

The Vicksburg Daily News was able to confirm the vehicle was not stolen and the driver has been identified as 37-year-old Alison Moody from Bay Minette, Alabama.

Sheriff Pace and WC-35, Chreka Clark, lead 37-year-old Alison Moody to a Deputy’s vehicle.