DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — A Colorado State Patrol (CSP) trooper narrowly avoided a head-on crash as he raced to stop a suspected drunk driver who headed the wrong way on C-470.
Around 9 p.m. on Aug. 30, numerous people called 911 to report that the driver of a Nissan SUV was going eastbound in the westbound lanes of the highway just west of Interstate 25.
Within roughly three minutes, a CSP trooper located the vehicle and narrowly missed being hit by it head-on.
The trooper immediately turned around and followed the wrong-way driver and got the driver to stop on the shoulder. However, when he approached the driver she didn't immediately acknowledge his requests to get out of her vehicle and backed into his stopped patrol car.
Watch the near miss and traffic stop below.
Nobody was injured but both vehicles had minor damage. The driver, a 22-year-old Denver woman, was taken into custody and cited for driving under the influence and multiple traffic violations, according to CSP. She was later released to a sober party.
“This impaired driver put herself and other motorists in incredible danger: not just weaving, but driving full speed in the wrong lane towards other unsuspecting drivers,” said Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol.
“Troopers work around the clock to prevent tragedies from happening, and tonight, this trooper very possibly saved lives.”
Impairment was the top factor in fatal crashes involving motorists between 16 and 49 that were investigated by CSP between 2019 and 2021.
Lane violations were the second top causal factor, according to the agency's crash and citation data.
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