Prosecutor: Wrong Way Driver Was Suicidal

A man accused of driving nearly 20 miles the wrong way on Interstate 85 from north Charlotte into Gaston County told a judge Wednesday that he doesn’t know what happened.

Daryl Ghent's eyes wandered as he listened to charges against him read aloud in court. Then he said he doesn't remember officers arresting him or the wild ride that troopers said ended when one ran Ghent’s car into a concrete retaining wall.

Authorities said not long after he was pulled from his car, he fell on the road.

“I still don't understand what all happened,” Ghent said. “I don't remember anything.”

The prosecutor argued that Ghent drove the wrong way on I-85 Tuesday morning because he was suicidal and had recently seen a psychiatrist.

He said the troopers that trapped Ghent feared the worst.

“It reached a point where the officers felt Mr. Ghent was looking for an opportunity,” Prosecutor Mike Kroomis said.

He said Ghent was looking for an opportunity to veer head long into oncoming traffic.

Ghent reportedly got onto I-85 heading south in the northbound lanes near mile marker 42. North Carolina Department of Transportation cameras captured his car zooming the wrong way for almost 20 miles.

A man who passed him told Eyewitness News it looked like Ghent was going 100 mph. That driver said he was on his way to his Charlotte home from work in Gastonia, and he remembers seeing headlights coming directly at him in his lane. He said he thought it could only be a trooper traveling on the wrong side of the road at night. He said he moved two lanes over and watched as the car passed by.

Seconds later, troopers fell in behind the vehicle.

They said they stopped Ghent near exit 23 and he refused to take a breathalyzer. They said a blood test found an unnamed prescription drug in Ghent's blood.

Ghent admitted in court that he had taken pills.

“I spoke to a psychiatrist a couple of weeks ago. It was the first time he put me on this,” he said.

Prosecutors asked that Ghent’s bond be raised from $25,000 to $1 million. The judge upped the bond to $200,000.

• IMAGES: Troopers: Wrong Way Driver Went 20 Miles On I-85 • RAW VIDEO: Wrong way driver on I-85 arrested

Previous Stories: July 28, 2009: Troopers: Man Who Drove Wrong Way Was Intoxicated