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.