Deputies arrest a 7th driver this year for going wrong way on freeway

July 21st, 2011 Indiana Lalor Leave a comment Go to comments

For the seventh time this year a motorist has been arrested for allegedly driving drunk in the wrong direction on the Milwaukee County freeway system, the sheriff’s office said Thursday.

The 35-year-old man almost caused a head-on collision while driving north in the southbound lanes of I-43 at W. Burleigh St. shortly after 4 a.m., the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Another motorist was southbound on I-43 and had just rounded a curve when he saw a pickup truck heading directly toward him, the sheriff’s office said.

The motorist then veered left to avoid a collision. The motorist struck a barrier wall, but was not injured.

The truck continued north until a sheriff’s deputy driving north along side the vehicle on the other side of the barrier wall activated his squad’s siren and air horn and motioned the driver to stop.

The truck finally came to a stop at Capitol Drive, where the deputy jumped the wall and arrested the driver, who had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.25. A level of 0.08 or more is legal proof of intoxication for motorists in Wisconsin.

The sheriff’s office will seek charges of first-offense operating while intoxicated and first-degree recklessly endangering safety against the man, the third driver this month arrested for allegedly driving drunk in the wrong direction on the freeway.

There have been seven such incidents this year, including one in January that resulted in a fatal crash, the sheriff’s office said.

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