At approximately 11:30 PM on January 16th, 2025, Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZ DPS) troopers were alerted to a wrong-way driver in a green Camaro traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of I-17 near Thunderbird Road.
Highway Patrol Traffic Operations Center camera operators quickly spotted the vehicle and observed it swerving to avoid a head-on collision before crashing into a concrete barrier. The Camaro self-corrected after the collision and continued driving northbound in the correct lanes.
Troopers, along with Phoenix Police patrol units and the Phoenix Police Air Unit, were dispatched to intercept the driver. Shortly after, the Phoenix Police Air Unit located the Camaro, which had stopped off the left shoulder near the HOV lane just north of Bell Road.
Patrol units and troopers arrived on the scene, quickly blocking the vehicle. The driver was detained and administered a series of field sobriety tests. During one of the tests, the driver struggled to walk a straight line.
The driver was subsequently arrested. While impairment is suspected, it has not been confirmed and will require further testing.