A man was charged with DUI over the weekend after driving the wrong way on Interstate 91 in Windsor before turning around and later driving off the highway into a grassy area near an exit ramp when a trooper tried to pull him over, state police said.
Troopers were alerted to the motorist on Saturday at 2:08 a.m. when they received the report of an erratic driver in a red SUV without any lights on swerving across the lanes of I-91 North in the area of Exit 35, according to Connecticut State Police. Using state Department of Transportation cameras, state police found the vehicle and saw the driver moving across the lanes.
The driver was then reportedly seen making a U-turn on the highway and going the wrong way, state police said. The driver continued the wrong way off the Exit 37 on-ramp where he turned around and merged back onto I-91 North in the right direction, according to state police.
A trooper who responded to the area located the driver shortly thereafter and flipped on their lights and siren to pull him over near Exit 38, state police said. The driver then slowed down and appeared to be taking Exit 38 when he drove into the gore area between the highway and the exit, according to state police.
Dashboard camera video from the trooper, which was released by state police, showed the driver’s tires spinning in the wet grass of the gore area as he drove back toward the highway. State police claimed that he hit signposts along the highway before stopping on the right shoulder.
The trooper told the driver to shut the vehicle off and drop the keys outside, which he did, state police said. The driver was identified as 41-year-old William Chretien of West Springfield, Massachusetts, according to state police. State police alleged that he had slurred speech, red glossy eyes and smelled of alcohol.
Chretien allegedly failed field sobriety testing and was taken into custody, state police said. A breathalyzer reportedly later found that his blood alcohol content was over the legal limit to drive, according to state police.
Chretien faces charges of reckless driving, illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failure to maintain proper lane on a limited access highway, driving the wrong way on a divided highway, illegal entry onto a limited access highway and failure to display lights.a
Chretien was later released on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on April 24.