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TOWN OF MERRILL, WI (WSAU) — A driver going the wrong way on a divided highway in the Lincoln County Town of Merrill is accused of multiple charges, including a 3rd offense OWI and felony recklessly endangering safety.
Officers received multiple reports Sunday evening of a vehicle going south in the northbound lanes of US 51. They managed to catch up with the vehicle near mile marker 208 and attempted a traffic stop, but the driver refused to pull over.
Officers followed the vehicle for about three miles before the driver stopped. They immediately noticed signs of impairment, including an open bottle of alcohol.
The driver, identified as Connie Jones of Tomahawk, initially agreed to field sobriety tests but later told officers she would not be able to perform them. She also told officers she didn’t know she was driving on the wrong side of the road.
She appeared in court for the charges on Monday, where a judge set her bond at $5,000. She posted the first $500 in cash and was released. Conditions of her bond include absolute sobriety from alcohol. She is also not allowed to drive. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 14th.
Court records show the 49-year-old was out on bond for another OWI, which was filed in late July. Meaning charges for Sunday’s incident could be amended to a 4th-offense OWI, which would be a Class H felony.
She is due back in court for the July incident on December 10th. As of Monday afternoon, the cases have not been cross-referenced.
No one was injured in Sunday’s incident. Officers note that multiple northbound vehicles had to evade the wrong-way driver to avoid a collision.
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