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Driver stopped after driving 10 miles in wrong way on I-215, I-80

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Posted at 8:51 PM, Mar 26, 2022
and last updated 2022-03-26 23:11:42-04

SALT LAKE CITY — Adding to the growing number of similar incidents occurring recently, Utah Highway Patrol troopers encountered yet another wrong-way driver on a Salt Lake area freeway early Saturday morning.

UHP said they stopped the driver around 3:30 a.m. near the Foothill Drive exit, just outside the mouth of Parleys Canyon.

WATCH: UHP, other law enforcement agencies look for solutions after string of wrong-way crashes

The driver had apparently entered I-215 near State Street, driving east in the westbound lanes. He then "made it all the way to Foothill Drive without hitting anyone" — which is about 10 miles from where he allegedly got on the freeway.

Troopers said the male driver, whose name was not released, was three times the legal blood alcohol level limit (.05%).

Earlier this month, UHP reported that they were seeing an "epidemic" of wrong-way drivers and crashes.

One such event happened just the day before this incident. A 14-year-old who allegedly stole a minivan was arrested after Salt Lake City Police saw them driving the wrong way on a one-way street downtown.

And earlier in the week, police managed to stop a wrong-way vehicle on I-15 in Centerville before the driver crashed into any fellow motorists.