CHP's spike strip stops elderly wrong-way driver on Hwy 580
OAKLAND (BCN) The California Highway Patrol chased down an elderly missing man going the wrong way on Interstate Highway 580 in Oakland this morning and had to use a spike strip to get him to stop, CHP officials said.
The man was disoriented when the officers found him and he was released to the care of his son.
A CHP sergeant spotted the man driving a Lincoln Town Car eastbound in the westbound lanes of Highway 580 near the MacArthur Maze. The sergeant was headed east in the opposite lanes and kept an eye on the Town Car as it continued going the wrong way at speeds of up to 100 mph, CHP officials said.
The CHP tried to do a traffic break maneuver to stop him, weaving across all lanes of traffic to slow or stop it, but the driver blew past the officers and kept going the wrong way.
On the other end of Oakland near Keller Avenue, CHP officers deployed a spike strip and flattened three tires. The driver finally stopped on the left side of the highway near 98th Avenue.
The driver, an elderly San Leandro man, had been reported missing by his family on Tuesday afternoon. He was considered at risk because of his age and was disoriented when the officers found him.
The man's son came out and took him home. The CHP isn't pursuing criminal charges.