A man with a blood alcohol content allegedly more than double the legal limit to drive was arrested on Tuesday after he claimed that he got onto Interstate 395 in Norwich going the wrong way during an argument with a passenger.
Troopers received multiple 911 calls shortly before 3 a.m. on Tuesday reporting a driver going the wrong way on the southbound side of the highway near Exit 9 before they found the vehicle, a silver Toyota Avalon, stopped while facing north in the shoulder near Exit 11, according to Connecticut State Police.
The driver, identified as 22-year-old Anthony Tarantino of Meriden, allegedly told troopers he realized that he got onto the wrong side of the highway during an argument with a passenger, state police said. He claimed that he was trying to get to the next exit so he could get onto the correct side of I-395, according to state police.
State police alleged that Tarantino showed “clear signs of impairment,” which included smelling like alcohol. When asked to get out of the vehicle, state police said, he was allegedly unsteady on his feet.
According to state police, Tarantino failed field sobriety testing and was arrested on charges of illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, driving the wrong way on a divided highway and first-degree reckless endangerment. Chemical testing later found that his BAC was allegedly more than double the legal limit, state police said.
Tarantino was later released on a $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Norwich Superior Court on Oct. 9.

