News

Police: Drunk driver went wrong way down highway for 20 miles

WOBURN, Mass. — A Rockport man is out on bail after state police say he was arrested him for driving drunk in the wrong direction for more than 20 miles on Route 128 early Sunday morning.

State troopers in Danvers told FOX25's Crystal Haynes they had to use stop sticks to deflate his tires so they could finally arrest him in Woburn.

Cellphone video shows the wild ride as the car heads south in the northbound lane of 128 early Sunday morning.

Troopers said they got a call around 3 a.m. and followed 22-year-old Steven Essery from the Manchester-by-the-Sea exit on 128 all the way to I-95 Exit 35 in Woburn.

Police say Essery was drunk behind the wheel and driving in the wrong direction the whole way.

"I think people are crazy now-a-days. I don't know. They thinking they can drive when drunk and they think it's safe to do. They don't really care about other people," Woburn resident David Lemieux said.

After following him for 20 miles, police finally resorted to the use of stop sticks to deflate Essery's tires and put him under arrest.

"I think, at that point, you should just pit maneuver him -- if it's safe enough -- and stop him, cause that's not safe," Lemieux said.

Essery has been charged with driving under the influence and driving in the wrong direction on the highway, along with failure to stop for police.

No one was injured.