March 14, 2019 – Washington Co., WI – Some great work Wednesday night by the Washington County Sheriffs Department after they safely stopped a vehicle going the wrong way on I41.
“The driver was part of a Silver Alert notification out of Manitowoc,” said Sheriff Martin Schulteis.
Manitowoc Police issued the Silver Alert at 7 a.m. on March 13 for 75-year-old Dennis Ullman who left a wellness center and did not return.
Around 10:44 p.m. the dispatch center at the Washington County Sheriff’s Department received multiple calls about a driver going the wrong way on I41.
“Menomonee Falls Police actually got a call that he was northbound in the southbound lanes,” said Schulteis.
Washington County Sheriff’s Deputies managed to stop the vehicle at the 41/45 split.
”That’s a good 7 to 8 miles he was going northbound in the southbound lanes,” Schulteis said. “The deputies said he was extremely confused and unaware of what road he was on.”
The man was brought to the Sheriff’s Department where his family came to pick him up.
Schulteis said the department has a policy not to chase a person in the opposite direction on the Interstate.
This is the second such wrong-way incident in Washington County in about a week.
On March 8 a wrong-way driver on Highway 33 was involved in a fatal accident after the driver was headed east in the westbound lanes.
“In this case it was an elderly driver with a medical issue and in the earlier accident it looks like alcohol was involved,” said Schulteis.
“Overall it’s just an important lesson about not driving in the left-hand lane when on divided highways because when people are confused or intoxicated they think they’re in the right-hand lane. It’s an important aspect and I have a young son who I teach not to drive in the left lane at night and it’s just for that reason.”
