A Bethel man was arrested on three charges early Saturday morning after he crashed his vehicle into another vehicle while traveling in the wrong direction on I-84 in Newtown. It was the latest wrong way crash in Connecticut, where similar crashes have been growing exponentially in recent years.

Connecticut State Police responded to I-84 West between Exits 10 and 11 around 2 am April 12 after being alerted to a crash in that area.

Connecticut troopers investigated a crash between a passenger vehicle traveling east in the westbound side of the highway and a tractor-trailer truck traveling west. The passenger vehicle had been operated by Eamonantonio Toland-Matos, 24, of Bethel.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue and Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps also responded to the crash. SHVFR Chief Anthony Capozziello said Toland-Matos’s vehicle clipped the tires of the truck's trailer.

“It was a glancing blow, but it knocked the tires right off the rim of the trailer,” he said.

First responders worked in rain and light snow while securing the scene. Traffic was slowed behind the crash, but the highway remained open, according to Capozziello.

According to the CSP report, troopers observed an odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person, bloodshot/glossy eyes, and slurred speech. He failed field sobriety tests.

Following the investigation Toland-Matos was charged with reckless endangerment-second degree, a Class B misdemeanor. He was also charged with illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol/drugs and driving the wrong way on a divided highway

He was released on a $500 non-surety bond and scheduled to appear in Danbury Superior Court on April 16. He was released on a written promise to appear. His next appearance will be an arraignment on May 6, also in Danbury.

A Troubling Trend

The collision in Newtown was one of at least six in the state within two weeks.

Connecticut State Police from Troop H arrested a 41-year-old West Springfield, Mass., male on April 12 after he had done a U-turn on I-91 North and began traveling in the wrong direction. William Chretien faces six charges including driving the wrong way on a divided highway and illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs.

Troop H personnel also responded to I-84 in West Hartford after the wrong-way detection system there alerted dispatchers of a wrong way driver on the Exit 42 off-ramp there. A 51-year-old Andover resident was arrested on three charges including driving the wrong way on a limited access highway after dispatchers witnessed Marcus King, through state traffic cameras, backing up off the ramp and exiting his vehicle. Troopers then located King picking up items that were scattered on the highway from a rolled over tractor-trailer truck.

Troop H-Hartford troopers also responded, on March 31, to the area of I-84 Exit 47 after a wrong way detection alert indicated a vehicle entering the highway in the wrong direction. Imer Danilo Hernandez, 21, of Hartford, was arrested after his Nissan Murano sideswiped another vehicle before crashing into a metal beam guardrail. Hernandez faces eight charges including driving the wrong way on a divided highway and illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs.

That same day, Troop H troopers also responded to the area of I-91 North near Exit 27 in Hartford following multiple reports of a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction. They subsequently located a Nissam Maxima being operated by Aaron Miranda, 39, of Newington, heading west in the eastbound lanes of Great Meadow Road in Hartford.

Miranda was arrested on six charges including driving the wrong way on a divided highway and illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol/drugs. The CSP report further notes it was Miranda’s third offense on the latter charge.

Two days earlier troopers from Troop F-Westbrook arrested Jacklyn M. Jerome, 48, of Glastonbury. Jerome was stopped while traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of Route 9 in Essex. She was arrested on five charges including driving the wrong way on a divided highway, failure to submit to chemical testing subsequent to DUI arrest, and interfering with an officer/resisting.

Connecticut has seen a marked increase in wrong-way drivers, often with fatalities, in recent years. According to national research, ramp locations with on- and off-ramps on the same side of the road have a higher risk of experiencing a wrong-way event. Additionally, impaired drivers are more likely to mistakenly enter the highway in the wrong direction.

CT DOT has identified 236 ramps as being high risk across the state, according to its website. The Wrong Way Detection System has been installed at many of those locations, including one set each at I-84 East and West at Exit 11, one set each at I-84 East and West at Exit 10, and one set at the I-84 West Exit 9 off-ramp.

Wrong way crashes, also according to the state’s DOT, typically occur when a motorist enters a divided highway from an off-ramp and proceeds in the wrong direction. With two or more vehicles approaching each other head-on in the same lane at high speed — and with the element of surprise — crashes are difficult to avoid and almost always catastrophic.

In 2024, there were as many wrong-way fatalities in the first three months as there were in all of 2023. There were more wrong-way crashes and fatalities on Connecticut roads in 2022 than the previous three years combined.

Most were attributed to alcohol or drug impairment.

According to CT DOT Spokesperson John Morgan, when looking at wrong-way driver crashes, “the vast majority of those on the interstate and those that are fatal are drivers that are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Most of these drivers are at a [blood alcohol content] of .2% or greater so they’re not just a little drunk, they’re really drunk.”

Under Connecticut law, a vehicle operator is considered legally intoxicated if their BAC is .08 or above. Operators age 21 and under are considered legally intoxicated at .02 or higher.

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Managing Editor Shannon Hicks may be reached at shannon@thebee.com.