Overview
- Troopers set up a rolling roadblock on I-91 near Exit 9 and a wrong-way driver swerved into a K-9 cruiser and a passenger car Saturday.
- A trooper, the trooper’s K-9, and the other driver were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries and officials say everyone is expected to survive.
- Police identified the driver as 28-year-old Jose Santiago of Holyoke and charged him with operating under the influence, negligent operation, and other motor vehicle offenses.
- Massachusetts State Police say this is the third incident since Trooper Kevin Trainor’s death in May in which a trooper was struck, and officials praised troopers’ quick actions while warning about the risks of stopping wrong-way drivers.
- State officials have accelerated a multi-million-dollar plan to add more thermal detection systems, flashing WRONG WAY signs, ramp redesigns, and expanded alerts to help prevent further wrong-way crashes.