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DPS trooper uses vehicle to stop wrong-way driver on L101 in Tempe

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L101 DPS Wrong Way Crash 08-21-22
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TEMPE, AZ — A DPS trooper used his vehicle to stop a wrong-way driver on the Loop 101 in Tempe early Sunday morning.

DPS says around 4:35 a.m., they received calls about someone driving the wrong way on I-10 near Baseline Road.

That vehicle then got on U.S. 60 heading eastbound in the westbound lanes before getting on the Loop 101 heading southbound in the northbound lanes.

A DPS trooper then drove his vehicle head-on into the wrong-way vehicle near the Baseline Road exit to stop it from going further.

Both the trooper and the wrong-way driver were reportedly taken to the hospital for minor injuries.

DPS troopers tell ABC15 they believe impairment may have played a role in the incident, and the driver, only identified as a man in his 20's, will likely face charges.

This incident happened just miles away from where the 2014 wrong-way crash that resulted in the death of Officer Brandon Mendoza.