BERLIN — A Delaware man, once described as “perhaps the most dangerous driver in Worcester County,” after his 12th drunk-driving conviction was allegedly at it again on Sunday.
Gerald Lusby, 47, of Selbyville was arrested on Sunday and charged with driving under the influence and resisting arrest after an incident during which Delaware State Police attempted to pull him over for speeding before he led officers on a high-speed chase on Route 54.
Gerald Lusby
Around 2:15 a.m. on Sunday, the Delaware State Police trooper observed Lusby allegedly driving a Chevy Trailblazer at a high rate of speed on Route 54 just east of the Treasure Beach campground. The trooper attempted to stop Lusby, who refused to stop and led police on a chase that lasted nearly 10 minutes.
Lusby’s vehicle became disabled assisting officers from the Ocean View Police Department deployed stop sticks, which deflated the tires. After abandoning the vehicle, Lusby reportedly fled on foot into an adjacent wooded area where he was located by a Delaware State Police helicopter.
The helicopter directed troopers on the ground to Lusby’s location and he was taken into custody without further incident. Lusby was transported to the state police barrack where further investigation revealed he was allegedly under the influence of alcohol during the incident. He was charged with DUI, disregarding a police officer’s signal, resisting arrest and numerous other traffic violations.
Lusby was arrested for driving drunk in Ocean City in September 2017. According to police reports., an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was driving north on Coastal Highway in the area of 137th Street when he was passed by a vehicle driven by Lusby going 45 miles per hour. The officer ultimately stopped the vehicle at a convenience store on 139th Street and believed the suspect was impaired. The officer spoke with Lusby, who told police he had been at a midtown nightclub and had consumed two alcoholic beverages.
In that case, it took a Worcester County jury all of 20 minutes to return a guilty verdict for Lusby for driving while impaired. He was sentenced to three years in jail, the maximum allowable penalty, and was also fined $1,000. For Lusby, the 2018 conviction for driving under the influence was his 12th in a span of over two decades dating back to 1991.
Due to increases in the subsequent offender penalties since his last conviction, the Worcester County Assistant State’s Attorney’s Office sought the new maximum allowable penalty of three years, pointing out at sentencing Lusby “poses a significant threat to the people of Worcester County when he isn’t incarcerated.” Before handing down the three-year sentence, the Worcester County Circuit Court judge said Lusby’s record was “the most remarkable driving record he had ever seen.”
Former Interim State’s Attorney Bill McDermott prosecuted Lusby in 2015 and called him at the time “perhaps the most dangerous driver in Worcester County,” and “the moment he is incarcerated, Worcester County is a safe place.”