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WEST HAVEN, Conn. (WTIC Radio) - Connecticut State Police arrest a Hartford man who they say drove the wrong-way on I-95 in West Haven, leading up to a head-on crash and nearly hitting a State Police cruiser.
Dispatchers at Troop G in Bridgeport received 9-1-1 calls reporting a wrong-way driver, later identified as Thabiso Mgoza, 38, who was driving southbound in the northbound lanes in the area of Exit 47 in New Haven around 12:17 a.m. Sunday.
Mgoza was seen driving a black Chevrolet Volt toward responding troopers, barely missing one of the cruisers that tried to stop his vehicle safely.
More troopers responding to the area noticed a head-on crash near Exit 43 on the northbound side of the highway moments later.
Mgoza was found leaning against the metal beam guardrail on the right shoulder, uninjured. Troopers say he struggled to maintain his balance and could not provide his location. They add that he had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and noted his eyes were bloodshot and watery.
State Police say Mgoza told troopers he didn't know how he ended up driving the wrong-way on the highway.
Mgoza failed field sobriety tests and was charged with operating a motor vehicle without a license, illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, failure to drive in the proper lane, driving the wrong-way on a divided highway, and second-degree reckless endangerment.
The occupants in the vehicle that was hit head-on had minor injuries.
Mgoza was later released on a $5,000 cash/surety bond and is scheduled for arraignment at Milford Superior Court on December 16, 2024.
