Wrong-way driver who authorities say was drunk causes police car crash in New Berlin
NEW BERLIN - A reportedly intoxicated driver literally headed straight into trouble when he drove the wrong way and directly into the path of a moving New Berlin police squad car Sunday night.
The result was a three-vehicle collision on Moorland Road in New Berlin at about 10:24 p.m. A police officer broke a finger in the crash, culminating in the arrest of the wrong-way driver for operating while intoxicated (third offense) and causing injury, according to a Monday news release from the New Berlin Police Department.
The officer was driving south on Moorland just south of Cleveland Avenue when he saw a northbound vehicle heading toward him in the southbound lanes of the median-divided road.
While attempting to evade a head-on collision, the officer, a five-year veteran of the department, collided with a third vehicle. The officer was the only one injured.
The Waukesha County Sheriff's Office, which investigated the OWI allegation at the request of New Berlin police, arrested a 57-year-old New Berlin man at the scene. He was taken to the Waukesha County Jail shortly thereafter, according to WCSO Lt. Nicholas Wenzel, the department's public information officer.
The Wisconsin State Patrol is also investigating the accident, according to authorities.
New Berlin Police Capt. Brad Polczynski acknowledged incidents such as this one — in which an alleged drunk driver collides with a squad car by chance, not by chase — are relatively rare. He recalled an accident roughly 15 years ago in which a driver collided with a New Berlin police car in an intersection in a third-shift mishap.
The names of the police officer and the driver in Sunday's accident were not released. Charges were pending against the driver Monday. The officer was treated at a local hospital and released.
Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at james.riccioli@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New Berlin police car crashes while avoiding wrong-way drunk driver
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