DETROIT (WWJ) – In the last week alone, three people have been killed in crashes involving wrong-way drivers on Metro Detroit-area freeways and seven others were injured.
In early May a 62-year-old grandfather from Metro Detroit was killed when his car was hit head-on by a wrong-way driver on I-696 in Macomb County.
As these wrong-way crashes pile up, WWJ’s Zach Clark tries to find out on a new Daily J podcast what’s causing this deadly spike.
WWJ’s morning traffic anchor KT saw the wrong-way driver on I-696 moments before the deadly crash in early May.
“I got onto 696 westbound at Gratiot about 10-to-4 in the morning. As soon as I got up to speed, I looked ahead of me. I wanna say 20 cars, I saw headlights. I look up again, and I’m like, ‘oh my god, that’s headlights! And as soon as I realized it’s headlights, I saw the cops coming on the freeway,” KT said.
A man who police say was intoxicated at the time has been charged with second-degree murder.
First Lt. Mike Shaw with the Michigan State Police in Metro Detroit says the department has been working on the problem of wrong-way drivers in the area for four or five years and they’re trying to figure out a way to fix it.
“We’ve been working with our partners at MDOT that when we get a wrong-way driver call that we’re able to put that information out on those electronic signs that people see on the freeway to let people get a heads up,” Shaw said, noting it’s “very difficult” to get on the freeway the wrong way.
To try to avoid getting into a crash with a wrong-way driver, Shaw offered this advice:
"The first thing I'd advise, and people are gonna hate it, but again...this is why you don't drive in the left lane," Shaw said. "So, if you think about a wrong-way driver, as they got onto the freeway they think they're in the right lane going down the road, which is actually the left lane going correctly."
The left lane on the freeway is not a travel lane, Shaw said, and is meant for passing other cars and for emergency vehicles. "So, don't drive in the left lane," he stressed. "That's number one."
Officials say one of the best things to do if you come across a wrong-way driver is to stop and "move as far off the freeway as you can."
Aside from intoxicated drivers, MSP officials say excessive speed and distracted driving often play a role in fatal crashes.
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