State police have arrested a 32-year-old New Britain man who is accused of driving the wrong way on Route 9 in New Britain and on Interstate 84 with three children in the car while he was “extremely intoxicated.” Police said he drove the wrong way for almost nine miles and nearly caused several crashes.
Several people called 911 about a driver going south on Route 9 North around 1:41 a.m. on Monday, then getting on I-84 West and driving east, according to state police.
Troopers stopped the car and said the driver, 32-year-old Victor Samuel Rivera, of New Britain, was extremely intoxicated and three children were unsecured in the back seat of the vehicle. The children are 8, 10 and 13 years old.
The passenger, a 33-year-old woman, was also extremely intoxicated, according to state police.
Rivera was charged with driving the wrong way on a divided highway, Illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol, operating a motor vehicle without a license, risk of injury to a child, reckless endangerment in the first degree and failure to use a seat belt.
The state Department of Children and Families was notified and a social worker went to pick up the children. Bond was set at $20,000.
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The adult passenger was charged with risk of injury to a child.
