By Justin Muszynski
Source Hartford Courant
A state police cruiser was struck during a wrong-way crash on Route 8 in Litchfield early Friday.
The crash came after state troopers received numerous 911 calls just before 12:05 a.m. reporting a motorist going the wrong way on Route 8 North near Exit 42, according to Connecticut State Police.
A trooper who responded to the area spotted the motorist and activated his emergency lights and siren to signal the driver to stop. Dashboard camera footage from the cruiser showed that the trooper slowed down as a pair of headlights approached him before he stopped in the left lane, which prompted the wrong-way driver to slow down but not stop.
State police said the driver was allegedly going about 30 mph when he tried to maneuver around the driver’s side of the cruiser, striking the vehicle and causing what was described as an “angled head-on collision.”
No injuries were reported.
State police said the driver, 85-year-old Gerald Lapointe of Florence, Massachusetts, was taken to Waterbury Hospital due to a “confused state of mind.” He was issued an infraction for driving the wrong way on a divided highway, according to state police.
Both vehicles had to be towed from the scene.
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