PERRY COUNTY, Indiana — A sheriff’s deputy pursued a wrong-way driver toward a one-lane Interstate 64 construction zone and an oncoming semi before both the deputy and driver stopped after striking construction barrels. No injuries were reported.
Perry County Sheriff’s Deputy Jared Quick is being credited with helping avert a potentially deadly collision during the early-morning response Wednesday, WEHT/WTVW reporter Cody Bailey reported Thursday.
A vehicle entered the interstate from an exit ramp
Quick was monitoring traffic near State Road 37 and I-64 for a separate incident when he saw a vehicle enter from an exit ramp and travel the wrong direction, according to the local report.
The deputy caught up to the vehicle, which the station identified as being driven by a 76-year-old Perry County man. The wrong-way path approached a construction area narrowed to one lane while a semi was coming from the opposite direction.
Quick and the other driver struck construction barrels before stopping in the work zone. The station reported only minor vehicle damage, and no one needed hospital treatment.
The sheriff praised a measured response
Perry County Sheriff David Faulkenberg said Quick’s decisions kept concern for other motorists at the center of the response. The sheriff said the deputy put himself at risk while trying to alert and stop the wrong-way driver without acting recklessly.
Quick told the station he was thankful the incident occurred around 2 a.m., when traffic was lighter. Other officers took the driver home after the stop, according to the report.
The public report did not describe a criminal charge, medical diagnosis or court case. ThinBlueNews is therefore not speculating about why the driver had difficulty getting home or asserting an outcome beyond the safe stop described by the local source.
A narrow window for prevention
Wrong-way incidents give officers very little time to separate a confused or impaired driver from unsuspecting traffic. In this case, a deputy already positioned near the interchange recognized the danger, followed it into a constrained work zone and helped bring the episode to an end without reported injury.
Readers can find more verified acts of service in ThinBlueNews’ police hero stories, police rescue news and positive police news sections.
Sources and visual disclosure
- WEHT/WTVW — “Perry County Deputy credited for stopping wrong way driver on I-64,” by Cody Bailey, published Aug. 6, 2026. The report provides interviews with Deputy Jared Quick and Sheriff David Faulkenberg and the account of the work-zone stop.
- WEHT/WTVW — initial Aug. 5 report on the wrong-way-driver response. Access to that publisher page may require a browser challenge.
Visual note: WEHT/WTVW’s featured photograph is explicitly copyrighted and was not copied. ThinBlueNews used an original, plainly labeled schematic that does not depict the real vehicles, people or exact incident positions.
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