By Jim Shay
Connecticut Post, Bridgeport, Conn.
DARIEN, Conn. — A drunk, wrong-way driver - who thought she was in New Jersey - sideswipped a State Police cruiser on I-95 in Darien early Monday morning.
Trooper Eduardo Santiago, was able to avoid a head-on crash with the vehicle, a 2016 Audi A3 2.0P
The wrong-way car - driven by Ashton Steen, 27, of Stamford- struck the side of Santiago’s Ford Taurus cruiser near Exit 12 just before 1 a.m.
Although both vehicles sustained “heavy, disabling damage” on the drivers’ sides, Trooper Santiago and Steen were not injured.
The vehicles came to rest on the left side of the highway.
“Trooper Santiago was able to make contact with Steen and established she was not injured,” according to the incident report.
“Steen admitted to consuming alcohol and believed she was in New Jersey.”
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She failed field soberity tests and was taken into custody. She was charged with reckless endangerment, reckless driving, driving the wrong way and DUI.
State police say they received “numerous calls” reporting a wrong-way driver.
Highway cameras helped identify the wrong-way vehicle as an Audi.
Before the crash, state police said Steen’s Audi was seen traveling at a high rate of speed between Exit 6 in Stamford and Exit 12 in Darien - a distance of nearly six miles.
The vehicle was spotted traveling northbound in the left and center southbound lanes.
“Traffic at the time was moderate and there were numerous near misses,” according to the incident report.
Steen’s license lists her address as Holmes Avenue in Darien. LexisNexis lists her address as Northill Street in Stamford.
Steen who was released on a $10,000 bond, will appear in Stamford Superior Court on Feb. 20.
©2018 the Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, Conn.)