A 29-year-old Superior man was arrested early Saturday for driving the wrong way on Interstate 35 and bailed out of Carlton County jail Tuesday. Because of glitches in the computer-based charging system, he has not yet been formally charged so will not be named as a matter of newspaper policy.
According to the criminal complaint:
At 2:44 a.m., the Carlton County dispatch service began receiving calls about a vehicle traveling south in the northbound lane of the freeway.
A squad car from the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office responded with lights and siren activated and began to drive in the southbound lane parallel to the suspect vehicle near the Barnum overpass. The suspect vehicle encountered several northbound vehicles on the highway but continued to travel the wrong way. The vehicle went into the median for some distance but then returned to the northbound lane.
According to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office, at one point “the driver looked over at the deputy and continued to drive” the wrong way down the interstate.
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After determining there was no approaching traffic through consultation with other law enforcement in the area, the pursuing deputy crossed over into the northbound lane and was able to force driver off the road.
Pending charges include third-degree driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, failure to stop for an emergency vehicle and wrong-way driving.
