State police have called a news conference for Tuesday to discuss the numerous incidents of wrong-way drivers on Vermont’s highways, and what people should do if they encounter a wrong-way driver.
The press conference will be held 11 AM Tuesday, Oct. 25 at the Interstate 89 northbound rest area in the town of Georgia. It will feature remarks by members of the Vermont State Police Special Operations/Traffic Safety Unit and the Agency of Transportation. The Department of Motor Vehicles Enforcement and Safety Division and the St. Albans Town Fire Department also will be in attendance.
Police reports of wrong-way Interstate driving include these accounts:
September 29, 2022 – An 86-year-old New Jersey man was pursued and stopped by local police after 10:30 PM after driving north in the southbound lane starting from the Richmond area and was passing Exit 12, Williston. Once stopped, the operator was identified, and it was learned that the driver had been reported missing by family where he lives in NJ earlier in the day. The operator was transported to UVM Medical Center by Colchester Rescue for evaluation due to circumstances surrounding the incident and concerns for his welfare.
September 11, 2022 – state police say a wrong-way driver headed south in the northbound lane on I-89 crashed in Milton. When troopers arrived on scene, they discovered multiple vehicles off the roadway, one being on fire with an unconscious operator and wrong-way driver trapped inside. He was removed from the burning vehicle by Troopers who had arrived on scene.
June 29, 2022 – At 2 AM, state police received several reports of a wrong way driver on Interstate 89 traveling south in the northbound lane from the area of Exit 13 through Exit 11 in the towns of South Burlington, Williston, Richmond and Bolton. A trooper located a disabled vehicle at mile marker 69 in the southbound lane, matching the description of the car operated by the reported wrong way driver. The driver was found and arrested.
June 16, 2022 – A trucker was arrested in Orleans County after police say he drove a tractor-trailer the wrong way on I-91 in Coventry.
February 11, 2022 – the Vermont State Police were notified at 9 AM of a wrong way driver on Interstate 89, traveling north in the south bound lane in Williston. Troopers quickly located the vehicle and safely got the operator stopped.
December 29, 2021 – A 39-year-old Rhode Island man with a six-year-old riding unsecured in the front seat was arrested after driving the wrong way on I-91 in Sheffield. The child suffered minor injuries.
November, 2021 – A Waitsfield woman suspected of impairment was driving the wrong way on I-91 in Windsor when her car collided with another car, killing its driver, a 59-year-old Rockingham woman, police say.
Categories: Crime
This phenomenon is yet another manifestation of the leftist philosophy of denying the concept of personal responsibility. We need more highly-paid State bureaucrats to investigate the “root causes” of this behavior…but not today…it’s friday, and as any State bureaucrat knows, it’s a virtual saturday.
People just assume everything in Vermont goes the wrong way.
Not just on I-89. I was almost hit by a wrong way driver in the darkness of early evening on the southbound exit ramp on 289 in Essex Junction…the other car was coming from Route 117… a couple of weeks ago. Flew right past me.
Every wrong way driver should be blood tested for recreational drugs. What do you think, should they be monitored like sex offenders – with a website that leaves a traceable public record?
Perhaps the Governor can create a new task force, committee, board or council to address this matter as well as implement a new tax or fee to fund further study and research.
People who have received the recent injections are experiencing massive cognitive decline. Neurological disorders and diseases of the brain have skyrocketed since people have taken the shot. Bloodclots in the brain have increased by 101,000 percent since people have taken the shots. Check the VAERS website for more information. These injected people who are losing their cognitive abilities are endangering everyone on the roads.
I’m noticing a lot more people crossing center lines, especially on left hand curves, and much more lane drifting on the highway lately. Seen several cars almost drift off the road. Phones? Tablet dashboards? Coof shots? I know I’ve certainly smelled weed on the road, and seen folks obviously smoking it while driving.