New York State Police Arrest Alleged Drunk Wrong-Way Driver on Route 17

Authorities were quite busy over the July 4th holiday, as more news surfaces concerning arrests. Police on state and local levels heightened patrols over the holiday weekend, as tens of thousands of motorists took to the roads and highway across New York.

One of a number of things authorities look for are impaired or distracted drivers.

See Also: New York State Man Sentenced After Route 9 DWI Crash in U-Haul

A potentially tragic incident was luckily averted, after New York State Police said they arrested a man who was allegedly driving while intoxicated. What made this situation even more dangerous was that this driver was also allegedly going the wrong way on one of the busiest routes in the state, says offcials.

State Police Stop Out-of-State Man Going Wrong Way 

The New York State Police said in a press release that troopers in Delaware County  arrested a 72-year-old man from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the night of June 29.

State Police said they received a radio transmission that a vehicle was traveling the wrong way on State Route 17 near the town of Deposit. Troopers located the vehicle, that was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes.

See Also: Police Say New York State Man Drove 18 Miles in the Wrong Direction on Route 17

State Police said they attempted to flag down the driver from the opposite lanes but were unable to gain his attention.  The vehicle eventually stopped near mile marker 274 in the town of Sanford when another vehicle blocked the roadway, according to offcials.

After failing field sobriety tests, police say the suspect was arrested.  State Police said the man's BAC level was .17%, which is over two times the state's DWI legal limit. Police said the suspect was arrested and charged with the misdemeanors of driving while Intoxicated and reckless driving.