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The incident took place in Litchfield County around 1:30 a.m., Friday, May 19 on Route 8 in Torrington.
According to state police, Litchfield County Dispatch began receiving 911 calls reporting a vehicle traveling southbound on Route 8 in the northbound lanes in the area of Exit 43 in Torrington.
One of the callers advised dispatchers that they had seen the wrong-way vehicle turn around and begin driving in the right direction, state police said.
State police said the caller provided a description of the vehicle and said it had exited Route 8 northbound at Exit 44, East Main Street, before entering Route 8 southbound and traveling in an erratic manner, swerving across the travel lanes.
Responding troopers located a vehicle matching the description provided by the caller on Route 8 southbound in the area of Exit 41 and initiated a motor vehicle stop.
During interactions with troopers, the vehicle driver, later identified as New Haven County resident Michael Wiggins, 67, of Waterbury, exhibited signs of possible impairment and agreed to participate in standardized field sobriety tests, which were not performed to standard, police said.
As a result of the on-scene investigation, Wiggins was taken into custody and charged with:
- Operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs
- Failure to drive in the proper lane
- Driving in the wrong direction on a divided highway
Wiggins was later released on a $1,000.00 non-surety bond and is scheduled for arraignment on Friday, June 2.
"We thank the members of the public who did not hesitate to call 911 to report this incident," state police said. "As always, we ask that anyone who observes a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction please keep a safe distance away and call 911 as soon as possible, as this is a true emergency."
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