BARSTOW, CA. (Pain In The Pass) >> California Highway Patrol officer intentionally used there patrol car to stop a wrong-way driver on Interstate 15 south of Barstow Thursday night.
A 97-year-old man driving 70 mph in the wrong direction on Interstate 15 was stopped by California Highway Patrol officers when they rammed his vehicle near Barstow. Around 11:40pm on Thursday April 20, 2023, CHP Barstow Dispatch Center received a 911 call about a vehicle being driven in the wrong direction on southbound I-15, south of Lenwood Road. The vehicle was reported to be northbound in the southbound center median of I-15 and the left lane.
Officers responded and spotted the wrong-way vehicle approaching at a high rate of speed. To protect surrounding drivers and to prevent a potentially deadly collision, officers used their patrol vehicles to perform a ramming technique to collide with the left front fender of the wrong-way vehicle.
As a result, the wrong-way vehicle traveled across the freeway to the left, hit a speed limit sign, and came to a stop on the right shoulder, according to CHP. The officer’s patrol vehicle was declared a total loss, CHP reported.
The wrong-way driver suffered minor injuries and was flown to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton to be check over, CHP officials said. Both CHP officers involved also suffered minor injuries and were taken to a local hospital where they were later released. No other injuries were reported.
The officer said, “it was a split second decision he made and he believes it was the right one”.
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