Police: State trooper struck by wrong-way driver on Route 8
A trooper driving north saw the vehicle, driven by Gerald Lapointe of Florence, Massachusetts, approach their vehicle just south of Exit 44.
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A Connecticut State Police trooper was struck by a wrong-way driver on Route 8 Friday.
Police say it happened just after midnight in Harwinton.
Troopers received numerous calls of a wrong-way driver headed south in the northbound lanes near Exit 42. A trooper driving north saw the vehicle, driven by Gerald Lapointe of Florence, Massachusetts, approach their vehicle just south of Exit 44. The trooper attempted to stop Lapointe.
Lapointe reduced speed but did not stop, according to authorities. He tried to swerve around the trooper's cruiser and hit the car's front left side.
No one was injured, but Lapointe was taken to Waterbury Hospital because of a confused state of mind.
Lapointe was issued an infraction for driving the wrong way on a divided highway, authorities say.
