Overview
- On July 11 a 28-year-old Holyoke man, identified as Jose Santiago, drove the wrong way on I-91, swerved into a K-9 unit cruiser and then struck a passenger vehicle head-on before being taken into custody.
- State police said troopers had set up a rolling roadblock near Exit 9 to stop the vehicle and that Santiago faces charges including operating under the influence of alcohol and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
- The trooper who was struck, his police dog, and the other motorist were taken to hospitals with injuries described as non-life-threatening and all are expected to survive.
- Col. Geoffrey Noble noted this is the third incident in which a trooper was struck since the early-May death of Trooper Kevin Trainor, a string of crashes that has led to prosecutions in several cases involving alleged impairment.
- Officials have accelerated a statewide effort to install hundreds of thermal detection cameras, flashing LED WRONG WAY signs, and ramp upgrades through 2026–2027 while investigations and court proceedings are ongoing.