A woman driving the wrong way on I-90 was arrested Wednesday morning, the second incident since last October when 2 people were killed as a result of driving the wrong way.
"It's very frustrating, my concern is 'what happens when you make mistake, I hit you, and you end up dead," said Ben Van Dyke, who has been a truck driver for about 36 years.
Van Dyke says he’s seen people make some crazy mistakes, including people driving in the wrong direction.
“Those you assume they’re drinking or have been,” he said. “They could’ve been unfamiliar with the area.”
His main concern when people make mistakes like this?
“I’m doing 70 miles per hour down the interstate. Do you really think I’m gonna stop that quick?” asked Van Dyke.
At around 12:30 a.m., a Manhattan woman, Lindsay Menard was arrested after driving the wrong way on I-90. According to the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, she was intoxicated at the time. Luckily no one was injured. She had her initial appearance Wednesday morning in Justice Court.
“We had that double fatality and then just a couple months later you see another one,” said Gallatin County Undersheriff Jeremy Kopp.
Kopp says they’ve responded to nine reports of wrong-way drivers in the last year. Including on Oct. 28 when an 18-year-old woman was hit head-on by a wrong-way driver on the interstate. Both women were killed.
“How long does it take you to figure out you’re going the wrong way, ya know,” said Van Dyke.
Kopp says it depends.
“Most of the time, wrong-way drivers will be able to identify they’re going the wrong way once they see oncoming vehicles or headlights and correct,” said Kopp. “The more intoxicated people are, the higher the probability of a serious accident."
“I don’t wanna kill anybody out here and you don’t wanna end up dead,” said Van Dyke. “So, how do you educate the public?”
Kopp says when it comes to people unfamiliar with the area, there’s nothing unique about I-90’s on and off ramps.
“The area has grown exponentially in the last 40 years so more traffic just means more problems,” said Van Dyke.
