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Trooper risks head-on crash to stop wrong-way driver in Auburn

  • Posted by The Burbs (Sponsor: North End Motor Sales) 10 hours ago - Filed in News - #Worcester  #Auburn  #Oxford  #State Police  #OUI  #Interstate 395  #I-395  #Wrong-Way Driver  #Drunken Driving  #Daniel Macko  #Traffic Safety  #Police News  - 990 views


    Mass. State Police

    AUBURN — A Massachusetts state trooper put his cruiser between oncoming traffic and a wrong-way pickup truck on Interstate 395 early Sunday, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision before stopping the vehicle and arresting its Worcester driver on drunken driving charges, state police said.

    Daniel Macko, 30, of Worcester, was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and negligent operation of a motor vehicle following the November 1st incident.

    According to state police, troopers from the Sturbridge barracks responded about 12:45 a.m. to multiple 911 calls reporting a wrong-way driver on I-395 in Oxford.

    Investigators determined that the pickup truck had struck 2 vehicles in a fast-food restaurant parking lot before entering the highway at Exit 7 and traveling north in the southbound lanes.

    Minutes later, a trooper traveling south on I-395 in Auburn spotted the danger and activated his emergency lights, slowing traffic behind his cruiser to keep other motorists away from the approaching truck.

    With traffic held back, the trooper activated his siren in an attempt to stop the wrong-way driver.

    The trooper narrowly avoided a head-on collision and managed to bring the pickup truck to a stop, causing only minor damage to his cruiser, police said. Neither the trooper nor the pickup driver was injured.

    Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble praised the trooper for putting himself in harm's way to protect other motorists.

    “I want to commend this brave Trooper’s swift action to put himself in harm’s way in order to protect the traveling public from an impaired wrong-way driver in the middle of the night,” Noble said. “If it weren’t for this Trooper’s courage we may have had a tragic outcome.”

    State police did not identify the trooper or provide details about Macko's arraignment.

    Source: Massachusetts State Police.

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