SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah — A driver traveled over 10 miles into oncoming traffic while heading the wrong way on Interstate 80 early Thursday. Nixon Eliwise, 49, was arrested Thursday and faces charges of driving under the influence and driving the wrong way on a highway.
The Utah Highway Patrol said it was dispatched to reports of a wrong-way driver at 3:19 a.m. near mile marker 99 outside Tooele. A trooper later located Eliwise heading eastbound in the westbound lanes of I-80 just west of Salt Lake City International Airport.
Without needing physical contact with their vehicle, the trooper was able to safely stop the driver, and no injuries or accidents related to the incident were reported.
Following the stop, a field sobriety test was administered, and Eliwise was arrested for DUI.
Despite recent deadly incidents, wrong-way crashes actually down in Utah this year:
The arrest comes after a recent string of wrong-way driving incidents in Utah, including an accident last month in which two teenagers were killed by a driver on I-15.
