READING, Mass. — A 25-year-old man accused of driving the wrong way on Route 128 before crashing into the median early Monday appeared in court Tuesday.
John Tarshi is charged with operating under the influence and a marked lanes violation after allegedly driving north in a southbound lane.
[ Mass. State Police investigating wrong-way crash on Route 128 ]
According to police, officers responded around 2:50 a.m. to reports of a wrong-way driver. They later found a black 2017 Porsche 911 that had crashed near Exit 54A on the Reading-Woburn line, facing the wrong direction in the left lane.
Police identified Tarshi as the driver. According to the police report, he admitted he had been driving and said the vehicle spun out because of bald rear tires.
Officers reported that Tarshi had bloodshot, glassy eyes, slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol. He refused standardized field sobriety tests and was arrested on suspicion of operating under the influence.
Police said Tarshi’s girlfriend, who was a passenger in the vehicle, told officers they had been leaving a casino. During an inventory search of the Porsche, officers said they found an alleged forged New Hampshire Registry of Motor Vehicles document in the glove box. Additional charges related to the document are pending further investigation.
According to the police report, Tarshi repeatedly referred to officers as “bro,” “buddy” and “boss” during the encounter. Officers also reported continuing to smell alcohol on his breath while he was being transported and booked.
Tarshi’s driver’s license was suspended. He was released on personal recognizance and is due back in court in August.
Gov. Maura Healey recently announced that Massachusetts is expanding its wrong-way detection system and committing tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, following a 25 Investigates analysis of MassDOT records that found a state pilot program launched in 2022 detected 294 wrong-way drivers.
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