Video shows moment man was nearly hit by wrong-way, accused drunk driver on Massachusetts highway
GROTON - A man was nearly hit by a wrong way driver on a Massachusetts highway and he has the video to prove it. The driver was later arrested.
"My wife would be planning a funeral today," driver Max Collins told WBZ-TV Monday.
Collins was driving on Interstate 93 South from his hockey league in Salem, New Hampshire to his home in Groton Sunday night. He was in Methuen at 10:47 p.m. when he decided to switch lanes. That decision may have saved his life.
Seconds later, a car buzzed by him going the wrong way in the left lane where he had just been driving. His dashboard camera recorded the entire incident on video.
"I've been kind of thinking about that all day," Collins said. "It's been eating me up all day. I haven't really slept much. For destiny to kind of get you that close, it was really shocking."
Collins called 911, but police were already aware of the driver and were on their way. New Hampshire State Police arrested 49-year-old Deirdre Masi of Lowell a short time later.
Masi was charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless conduct, reckless driving, and criminal threatening.
597 wrong-way crashes
There have been 7,730 wrong-way driving-related crashes in Massachusetts since 2014, according to AAA. So far in 2024, there have been 597. Experts say there are two factors.
"One that comes up in a lot of different crash patterns is distraction. Drivers are distracted and potentially miss where it is they're supposed to be or focused on something else. The other one is often times impairment," said UMass Transportation Center Director Mike Knodler. "There's a lot of different things being done to combat wrong-way driving."
MassDOT has installed 16 wrong-way vehicle detection systems at various on and off-ramps across the state. They are also reviewing all the ramps that could be accessed in the wrong direction.
Collins is grateful to be alive and is using the terrifying ordeal as a lesson in gratitude.
"The holidays coming up, I'm glad I'm going to be there for that and I think I'm going to enjoy it a little bit more. I knew how quickly it could have been over," he told WBZ.
