Wrong-way Driver Arrested In Farmington

FARMINGTON, CT — A New Britain woman is facing several charges after local police said she drove the wrong way in a construction zone and crashed her vehicle into another at Interstate 84 and Route 9 Wednesday morning.

State police announced the woman's arrest Friday morning.

She was identified as Mindy Lee Rivera, 35, of New Britain, and police said she was taken into custody without incident and transported to Troop H where she was charged with:

• Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol in a construction zone.

• Driving the wrong way on a highway in a construction zone.

• Failure to comply with a state traffic control sign.

• First-degree reckless endangerment.

• Reckless use of the highway by a pedestrian.

Rivera was released on $2,000 cash-surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court Sept. 14.

In a release issued Friday, police said on Wednesday, Aug. 31, at about 12:42 a.m., troopers assigned to Troop H in Hartford responded to a report of a motor vehicle accident in the area of Route 9 South, where I-84 East and West merge in Farmington.

Upon arrival, troopers observed two vehicles in the left lane adjacent to the construction pattern just north of the Route 9 turnaround.

Police said troopers then saw a woman standing in between the left and right lanes on Route 9 south.

The female observed standing in the travel lanes was identified as the operator of an involved vehicle and was escorted to a safer location.

Investigating troopers were able to establish a Nissan driven by the woman had been traveling northbound in the southbound lanes and sideswiped a Hyundai.

No injuries were reported and both vehicles were towed from the scene.

Police said Rivera was found to be at fault for the collision and standardized field sobriety tests were administered, which were not performed to standard.

For the Connecticut State Police news site, click on this link.