Wrong-way driver causes motorway crash
Motorist was ‘clearly under the influence of alcohol’
A MOTORIST who drove for six kilometres along the motorway on the wrong side of the road was three times over the drink drive limit, according to the Guardia Civil.
The incident occurred on Saturday on the RM-19 in Murcia region.
A Guardia Civil spokesman reported that the driver had joined the motorway in San Javier.
As he headed towards Murcia city, other motorists were forced to swerve out of the way to avoid the oncoming vehicle. The regional emergency services received a series of calls reporting the situation and highway patrol officers set out on motorcycles to halt the driver.
Finally, after travelling more than six kilometres in the wrong carriageway the drink driver’s car collided with another vehicle ‘which was using the highway correctly’, in the municipality of Torre Pacheco.
Guardia Civil officers, the fire service and paramedics attended and found that both drivers had been injured and their vehicles damaged.
According to the spokesman, the officers noticed that one of the drivers ‘was clearly under the influence of alcohol’.
The following tests showed that he was three times over the limit.
He faces charges of dangerous driving and driving under the influence of alcohol.
The case is being dealt with by a San Javier judge.
The spokesman highlighted the very high danger caused by driving the wrong way on a motorway and called
on citizens to report any such incident immediately, ‘as happened in this case’.
He also advised drivers to always use the right-hand land of the motorway except when overtaking as ‘people
who drive the wrong way on these types of roads usually use the left-hand land as they think they are on a conventional road with one lane for each direction’.