A Pennsylvania state trooper who spotted a wrong-way motorist on Route 51 in Rostraver on Tuesday night tried to stop the SUV before a crash that injured the driver, according to a news release.

Police said they saw Rebecca Stevenson, 71, of Belle Vernon driving the SUV north in the southbound lane at 8 p.m. near McKenery Drive and C. Harper dealership, not far from the Interstate 70 interchange. The trooper was driving north in the northbound lane at the time.

Police said they followed the SUV for about a half mile with lights and sirens activated in an attempt to stop the motorist. The SUV slammed head-on into a tri-axle dump truck.

The SUV driver was taken by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital, police said. The dump truck driver was not hurt.

Wrong-way crashes on the region’s roads have killed or injured several people since July.

In March 2021, AAA and the National Transportation Safety Board warned motorists of an increasing rate of wrong-way crashes resulting in fatalities. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that there were 2,008 deaths from wrong-way crashes on divided highways nationwide between 2015 and 2018.

The approximate annual average of 500 deaths in that time frame is a 34% increase of the 375 deaths per year between 2010 and 2014, the foundation reported. Those types of crashes are typically head-on and the odds of becoming a wrong-way driver increase with alcohol impairment, older age and driving without a passenger.

State police said it is common for wrong-way crashes to happen during night time hours and drivers coming face-to-face with a wrong-way driver typically have little, if any, time to react.

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