Maryland motorcyclist killed in wrong-way crash

FREDERICK, Md. — Maryland State Police say a man has died after a head-on collision in Frederick. The crash between a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a Jeep happened Thursday night on MD 26 near the Monocacy River. 

Maryland State Police troopers responded to Liberty Road for a reported crash just before 11 p.m. A preliminary investigation found that the motorcycle, driven by 39-year-old Joseph Franklin Carter, was heading westbound in the eastbound lanes of MD 26, south of MD 194. A Jeep was heading eastbound. Witnesses told investigators Carter was going the wrong way when he drove off the road and hit a concrete curb just before the intersection of MD 194 and MD 26. The man continued to drive the wrong way down the road. A Jeep struck the motorcyclist head-on a short time later. 

Carter died at the scene. The driver of the Jeep was hospitalized with minor injuries. 

The road was closed for about two hours and 40 minutes during the crash investigation. Investigators are still looking into what led up to the crash. Police have not said whether alcohol was a factor.