OC Woman Injured In Route 50 Head-On Collision

SALISBURY — An Ocean City woman was injured in an early Thursday morning crash on the Route 50 bypass near Salisbury when a motorist drove the wrong way on the highway and collided with her vehicle.

Around 1:53 a.m. on Thursday, the Maryland State Police (MSP) Salisbury barrack received a report of a vehicle traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes on the Route 50 bypass. A few minutes after that initial report, the MSP Salisbury barrack was notified of a collision in the area of westbound Route 50 and Naylor Mill Road.

The investigation revealed a 2007 Toyota Rav 4 driven by David Geist, 75, of Reading, Pa., was driving east in the westbound lanes on the bypass when it struck a 2017 Chevrolet Trax driven by Kelly Lee McKinney, 21, of Ocean City. The Toyota then struck a Freightliner tractor-trailer hauling double trailers.

According to police reports, the Toyota then careened off the tractor-trailer and struck the guardrails on the left shoulder before coming to a stop. McKinney’s Chevrolet was forced into the second of two trailers hauled by the Freightliner before both vehicles came to rest.

Geist and McKinney were transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center by Hebron EMS with unknown injuries and their conditions were not known as of mid-day on Thursday. The driver of the tractor-trailer, Maurice Johnson, 42, of Westover, was not injured and did not require transport to the hospital.

The accident closed the Route 50 bypass for about five hours to accommodate the investigation and clean-up. The MSP Salisbury barrack was assisted on the scene by the State Highway Administration, the Hebron Fire Department, the MSP Crash Team and the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.