A New Castle man faces numerous charges in connection with a wrong-way collision on Interstate 70. The Wayne County Dispatch broadcast a report of a pickup eastbound in the westbound lanes of I-70 around the 149-mile marker exit Thursday night. Shortly after 10:50 p.m., officers received a report of a collision at the 148-mile marker.
Indiana State Police trooper Andy Wandersee arrived along with Wayne County deputies to find the driver of a red Ford Ranger had fled the scene. The pickup, heading the wrong direction, had struck two vehicles nearly head-on with the debris damaging a third vehicle, a tractor-trailer, police said.
The driver of the pickup was located a short time later, hiding behind the Indiana State Police Scale House at the 148-mile marker westbound. Arrested was Archie Napier, 42, of New Castle.
He and a second driver, whose identity was not available from police, were taken to Reid Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Napier was treated and released from Reid before being booked into the Wayne County Jail at about 4:45 a.m. Friday.
Napier is charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing serious bodily injury, a Class D felony; operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, a Class D felony; operating while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol content of .15 percent or higher, a Class A misdemeanor; reckless driving, a Class B misdemeanor; and operating while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor.
