SPRINGFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) - A drunken driver traveling from Connecticut drove the wrong way on the highway before crashing into a police cruiser and two other vehicles in Springfield, according to state police.
State police began receiving calls about a wrong-way driver traveling north on the southbound side of Route 91 in Longmeadow around 10 p.m.
A trooper on patrol around mile marker three soon located the wrong-way driver, later identified as 60-year-old Yuriy Rudenko, in a pickup truck coming towards him in the breakdown lane, state police said.
The trooper positioned his cruiser in front of the truck in an attempt to stop Rudenko and prevent injury to other motorists.
Rudenko did not stop, hit the cruiser and continued traveling in the wrong direction, according to state police.
The pickup truck then reportedly hit two other vehicles before flipping over and catching on fire in Springfield.
Rudenko, who suffered minor injuries to his hands, was arrested and charged with multiple offenses including drunken driving, state police said.
The trooper involved in the initial crash was transported to BayState Medical Center with minor injuries.
Two other motorists, a 33-year-old from Florida and a 22-year-old woman from Enfield, Connecticut, were also taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries as a result of crashes caused by Rudenko, according to state police.
State police shut down all southbound lanes as they investigated the crash. The lanes reopened at midnight.
Rudenko is scheduled to be arraigned in Springfield District Court Wednesday.
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