MSP: Wrong-way driver arrested after 13 miles on I-75

A "highly intoxicated" 36-year-old Detroit woman was arrested early Friday after allegedly driving about 13 miles the wrong way up Interstate 75, according to Michigan State Police.

Dispatchers initially received numerous 911 calls around 2:30 a.m. reporting the driver traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of I-75 near I-375 in Detroit, police said in a statement. Calls continued to come in as troopers attempted to locate the vehicle, described as a Ford 500 moving at 50 to 60 mph.

Troopers spotted the driver and pulled alongside her from the northbound lanes, but the woman looked over at them and continued to drive. Officers then used an emergency crossover lane to enter the southbound lanes just north of 13 Mile in Royal Oak. The driver still failed to stop.

"They executed a PIT (precision immobilization technique) maneuver" that caused the car to abruptly turn sideways, lose control and stop, officials said. "The PIT was successful and there were no injuries to the suspect, public or troopers."

Officers discovered the woman inside appeared "highly intoxicated" and was driving on a suspended license. She refused a chemical test at the scene and was subjected to a search warrant for a blood draw, conducted at Royal Oak Beaumont.

She was lodged at the Detroit Detention Center on outstanding warrants as the current investigation continues.

hfournier@detroitnews.com

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