DUI Wrong-Way Driver Arrested After Stop On I-395 In Norwich: State Police

NORWICH, CT — A Meriden man was arrested early Tuesday morning after police said he was driving the wrong way on I-395 in Norwich while operating under the influence of alcohol at more than double the legal limit.

Connecticut State Police began receiving multiple 911 calls around 2:50 a.m. on Sept. 23 reporting a wrong-way driver on I-395 in Norwich.

Police said 911 callers reported that a vehicle, later determined to be a silver Toyota Avalon, was driving northbound in the southbound lanes in the vicinity of Exit 9.

Within minutes of the initial calls, police said state troopers found the vehicle stopped in the left shoulder of I-395 South near Exit 11, facing the wrong direction.

The driver, identified as 22-year-old Anthony Tarantino of Meriden, told troopers that he had gotten into an argument with his passenger, and then realized he got onto the highway the wrong way, according to police.

Tarantino said that he was trying to get to the next exit to correct his direction, according to police.

“While speaking with Tarantino, Troopers began to observe clear signs of impairment to include the odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person,” police wrote in a news release. “Tarantino was asked to step out of the vehicle, to which he complied. Troopers subsequently observed that Tarantino was unsteady on his feet upon exiting the vehicle. Tarantino was requested to submit to Standardized Field Sobriety Testing and agreed to submit to testing.

“Tarantino subsequently failed to perform the tests to standard and was arrested without incident.”

Tarantino was arrested on charges of illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol / drugs, driving the wrong way on a divided highway, and first-degree reckless endangerment.

Police said chemical testing later conducted at Troop E in Montville found that Tarantino's blood alcohol content was “more than double the legal limit.”

He was later released after posting a $25,000 bond with a court date of Oct. 9.