Wrong-Way Driver Goes 15 Miles On I-696 Before Head-On Crash
OAK PARK (WWJ) - Police say a man drove nearly 15 miles going the wrong direction on a popular metro Detroit freeway before he crashed his vehicle head-on with another driver.
The situation unfolded around 4:55 a.m. Thursday when police started receiving calls about a wrong way driver traveling east on westbound I-696 near the I-275 interchange in Farmington Hills.
As troopers were making their way to the area, police started receiving more calls that a car had struck another vehicle head-on at westbound I-696 and Coolidge Highway in Oak Park.
Troopers arrived on the scene and found both cars in a mangled wreck. Both drivers were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. Their current conditions are unknown.
Here's why WB 696 is closed between Coolidge and Greenfield. #earlyrisers pic.twitter.com/5isjhfCWeh
— Bobby Mitchell (@bobbyisawake) August 21, 2014
It's unclear if the wrong-way driver, whose name was not released, will face any charges.
Police did not immediately specify if alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash.
The freeway was closed for just over an hour while police investigated, but has since reopened. Traffic backups were so bad that some drivers were going the wrong way up the exit ramps to avoid the jam.
Stay with WWJ Newsradio 950 and CBSDetroit.com for the latest.