Hamilton man drives 44 kilometres the wrong way on Highways 403 and 401
A Hamilton man drove the wrong way on two of Southern Ontario's biggest highways for more that 44 kilometres before police closed the highway to stop him.
The man travelled into oncoming traffic, weaving his way through oncoming traffic, all the way from Brantford to Ingersoll on Highways 403 and 401. The incident happened mid-morning on Monday.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Constable Liosa Naranesik said her Oxford detachment listened to their radio scanners intently as the driver "lane hopped" between the lanes, as well as both shoulders, as he drove into oncoming traffic.
Naranesik said an off-duty officer travelling west in the westbound lanes, tracked the driver for much of the journey, providing updates the OPP detachment could hear over their police radios.
"He travelled such a long way," Naranesik said. "It was eerie listening to it on the dispatch because you were just kind of waiting for something to happen."
The driver travelled on Highway 403 and then merged against other live oncoming traffic at Woodstock where Highway 403 merges with Highway 401. The driver exited briefly at a service centre, but did not stop for coffee or gas, driving straight through and back onto the highway, going west in the eastbound lanes.
"It's very lucky that no one was injured or killed," said Naranesik.
A 29-year-old Hamilton man was charged with dangerous driving and possession of marijuana. Naranesik said the driver was not charged with impaired driving, and has been released on a promise to appear in September at a court in Woodstock.
