PORTLAND — A 78-year-old Westbrook woman was intercepted by Maine State Police and an ambulance crew Monday after she was reported driving the wrong direction on Interstate 295.
At around 11:50 a.m., calls flooded into the Bangor Regional Communications Center regarding a northbound wrong-way driver in the southbound lanes between exits 7 and 8.
Troop I officers quickly deployed to the area in response to the reports.
Yarmouth Rescue, an ambulance heading northbound at the time, spotted the 2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser headed against traffic.
In an effort to avert a potential disaster, the ambulance crew turned around and positioned their vehicle at an angle across the interstate to block the wrong-way driver’s path.
Upon noticing the stopped ambulance, the wrong-way driver began to reverse her vehicle.
It was then that a state trooper arrived on the scene with emergency lights activated, prompting the driver to halt.
The trooper was able to secure the vehicle by placing it in park and retrieving the keys.
The elderly driver, who was en route to Mercy Hospital due to an apparent medical event, was subsequently transported there by Yarmouth Rescue, the ambulance team that initially intervened.
The Maine Department of Transportation and the Portland Police Department also provided assistance during the incident.
