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Milwaukee County Sheriff's deputy stops wrong-way driver
A Milwaukee County Sheriff's deputy stopped a wrong-way driver by putting his squad right in front of her car early Wednesday morning. The driver went about two miles heading south in the northbound lanes of I-41/US-45. FOX6 spoke exclusively with the deputy involved.
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee County Sheriff's deputy stopped a wrong-way driver by putting his squad car right in front of her car early Wednesday morning.
The driver went about two miles heading south in the northbound lanes of Highway 41/45.
Wrong-way driver
What we know:
Deputy Montrell Hobbs said it was a split-second decision and a terrifying one. Department of Transportation video shows the wrong-way driver, who investigators believe got on Highway 41/45 near Good Hope Road.
For about two miles, she drove southbound in the northbound lanes. Freeway cameras showed her driving the wrong way through a construction zone and near other drivers by Appleton Avenue. Further south near Hampton Avenue, the car was seen driving on the shoulder of the freeway.
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The car came very close to two vehicles near Silver Spring Drive, which is where Hobbs performed a serpentine maneuver to warn the drivers behind him. He then put his squad car right in front of the car.
What they're saying:
"I was really scared just because you don’t know the reaction of what the driver’s going to do," Hobbs said. "That’s one of the things that we’re trained. You just don’t know. So, I wasn’t sure if the driver was going to continue to come directly at my squad at a decent speed or if they were going to try to maneuver around my squad to continue southbound in the northbound lanes of traffic."
The crash caused minor damage. The deputy, his K-9 partner Creed, and the wrong-way driver did not have any injuries.
The driver was arrested for first-offense OWI. Investigators say she was nearly five times the legal limit. She was later booked on charges of second-degree recklessly endangering safety and told deputies she was enroute to get her child.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Ashley Sears and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Deputy Montrell Hobbs, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, Department of Transportation video, freeway cameras and FOX6 News reporting.