A 27-year-old Torrington man is facing drunk driving charges after state police say he drove south in the northbound lanes of Route 8 last Sunday afternoon, forcing another driver to swerve before the two vehicles collided in a sideswipe crash. Darwin Perez-Toalongo was driving a 2017 Chevrolet Trax when he allegedly entered the wrong lanes of the divided highway near Exit 51, according to Connecticut State Police.
The crash happened shortly before 4 p.m. on October 11, when Perez-Toalongo's southbound Trax crossed into the northbound lanes near Exit 51 in Torrington, according to Connecticut State Police details relayed by News 12. A 29-year-old Torrington man driving a 2019 Kia Optima in the center lane swerved left to avoid a head-on collision but was still sideswiped by the oncoming Trax. Neither the Kia driver nor Perez-Toalongo and his 26-year-old passenger, also of Torrington, reported injuries, according to the Hartford Courant. Both vehicles were towed from the scene.
State police suspected Perez-Toalongo of being under the influence and asked him to undergo field sobriety testing, which he allegedly failed, per the Courant's report. He was taken into custody and brought to the Winsted Police Department, where he was released on a $5,000 non-surety bond. He now faces charges of operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol, reckless driving, and driving the wrong way on a divided highway, and he's scheduled to appear in Torrington Superior Court on October 23.
Part of a Troubling Weekend Pattern
The Route 8 crash wasn't an isolated incident. It was one of two wrong-way highway calls logged in Connecticut over the same weekend, following an earlier episode on I-84 near Southington, where troopers stopped a wrong-way driver traveling with hazard lights flashing, as reported by NBC Connecticut. State police received multiple 911 calls from motorists about the Torrington incident; the earlier incident prompted one call.
The timing is notable given the state's recent investment in wrong-way driving countermeasures. The Connecticut Department of Transportation activated its 300th Wrong Way Driver Detection System statewide on September 9, part of an ongoing push to intercept drivers before they enter highway lanes, according to CT.gov. The systems use video cameras and LED-flashing wrong-way signs linked in real time to state police.
Detection Systems Catch Most Wrong-Way Drivers Early
Those detection systems have proven largely effective, even if they didn't stop this particular crash. NBC Connecticut's data shows the technology has activated roughly 1,300 times statewide since 2023, with about 1,100 drivers successfully turning around before ever entering highway lanes — meaning early intervention at ramp entrances stops more than 80 percent of detected wrong-way attempts.
CTDOT has been expanding the network aggressively. In March, the agency announced plans to grow the system to 400 locations, covering more than half of Connecticut's highway ramps, after logging 178 wrong-way detections in just the first months of 2026, according to FOX 61. Officials have cited Connecticut's dense highway exit frequency as a key factor driving the problem.
Notably, the Exit 51 southbound ramp where the crash occurred had received a state safety check earlier this year. CTDOT records show the ramp's wrong-way detection equipment underwent maintenance and recertification on April 6 as part of a broader spring inspection effort across Western Connecticut, per the agency's construction advisory.
A Legacy of Deadly Crashes Drives State Action
The scale of the state's response traces back to a deadly spike years ago. CTDOT safety reporting found that 13 such crashes killed 23 people across Connecticut in 2022, according to a state case study. CTDOT analysis found alcohol impairment was involved in nearly every fatal wrong-way crash recorded.
That link between alcohol and wrong-way driving has shaped how the state targets its investments. CTDOT's ramp safety program evaluated more than 700 ramp locations statewide and flagged over 200 as high-risk, according to the agency's wrong-way driving program map.
What Perez-Toalongo Could Face in Court
Beyond the criminal case, Perez-Toalongo could face civil exposure if the Kia driver pursues a lawsuit.
