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Angel Sanabria, 44, of Hartford, was arrested and charged with multiple felonies and traffic violations after police stopped his SUV, which had heavy front-end damage with smoke billowing from the engine, and fluids leaking onto the road as if he'd been in a recent crash, Connecticut State Police said.
Troopers received a wrong-way driver detection alert just after 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, at the Governor Street off-ramp from I-84 westbound in East Hartford. They found a Lexus SUV driving in the wrong direction at the Pitkin Street entrance ramp about a minute later.
Police said they saw the SUV narrowly avoid colliding with an oncoming car.
Troopers stopped Sanabria and helped him out of the SUV, but he struggled to stand and slurred his words, authorities said. He failed a field sobriety test, and a breathalyzer test showed he had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his bloodstream, authorities said.
Troopers also found a fentanyl-filled "bundle of wax folds" in the driver’s side floorboard, authorities said.
Sanabria later told investigators he was unaware he was driving on the wrong side of the road or why his car was damaged.
Police charged him with:
- Reckless driving
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Driving the wrong way on a divided highway
- Possession of a controlled substance — first offense
- Reckless endangerment in the second degree
- Multiple traffic and safety citations
Sanabria was released after posting a $10,000 surety bond, police said. He is scheduled to return to court on Thursday, Dec. 12.
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