HAMPTON — A Massachusetts man accused of driving the wrong way on Interstate 95 and later killing a New Hampshire college police sergeant in a crash has been arrested and extradited.
Keoma Duarte, 40, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was taken into custody by New Hampshire State Police on June 3 and arraigned June 4 in Hampton District Court.
Duarte faces two felony counts of reckless conduct and one misdemeanor count of disobeying an officer in connection with the Nov. 27, 2024 incident.
State police obtained an extraditable arrest warrant for Duarte on Dec. 6, 2024, following a monthslong investigation.
Massachusetts State Police arrested Duarte on May 28, and he waived extradition after appearing in New Bedford District Court.
New Hampshire troopers transported Duarte from Bristol County Jail and House of Correction in Massachusetts to Rockingham County Department of Corrections.
The incident began just before midnight Nov. 27, 2024, when state troopers observed a Tesla traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of I-95 in Hampton.
Troopers immediately tried to stop the wrong-way driver and coordinated with Massachusetts State Police as the suspect continued south.
The wrong-way driver collided with another vehicle in Massachusetts, killing Jeremy Cole, 49, of Exeter.
Cole was a sergeant with the Public Safety & Police Department at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts, and was traveling home after his work shift.
Duarte was injured in the crash and transported to a Boston area hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The preliminary investigation determined Duarte was initially traveling northbound on I-95 in Hampton before entering the parking lot of the northbound NH Liquor & Wine Outlet, which was closed.
Surveillance footage shows Duarte driving through the lot before departing from the entrance at approximately 11:45 p.m.
A New Hampshire State Trooper on patrol observed Duarte less than one minute after he entered the road in the wrong direction.
The investigation remains ongoing.
