A wrong-way driver on Interstate 84 in Hartford was arrested in the early morning hours on Sunday following a head-on crash, leading to state troopers charging her with DUI and allegedly finding a gun in her vehicle.
Troopers were alerted to the motorist when the highway’s blink-link wrong-way driver detection system notified them of a driver going the wrong way on the Exit 46 on-ramp just before 2 a.m., according to Connecticut State Police.
State police responded to the area and found that two vehicles were involved in a head-on collision. Minor injuries were reported.
State police said they identified the wrong-way driver as 41-year-old Desiree Garcia of Hartford. She was allegedly showing signs of intoxication and was asked to take field sobriety testing, according to state police. She allegedly failed the testing, state police said.
Garcia was arrested and taken to the Troop H barracks in Hartford. Inside her vehicle, state police said, troopers allegedly found a firearm.
Garcia was charged with failure to carry an operator’s license, reckless driving, operating under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, driving the wrong way on a limited access highway, illegal carrying of a firearm under the influence and second-degree reckless endangerment. She was released on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on Oct. 23.
