Contraflow driver charged with impaired driving after fleeing crash on I-384 in Manchester

A Manchester man has been charged with a DUI after fleeing an accident while driving on the wrong side of Interstate 384 on Thursday, Connecticut State Police say.

Police responded to I-384 West near Junction 4 in Manchester to a report of a vehicle driving off after an accident around 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The vehicle was described as a gray pickup truck and the caller gave police a Connecticut license plate number, state police said.

During the accident investigation, soldiers learned that the van was traveling in the wrong direction and crashed with a Toyota Camry.

Manchester Police Department officers located a van matching the description on Candlewood Drive, approximately half a mile from the crash site.

Police observed that the driver of the truck showed signs of impairment, state police said. The driver, identified as William Gerlack, 35, of Manchester, agreed to undergo field sobriety tests and failed them, state police said.

Police allegedly found Xanax pills while searching him, troopers said.

He was arrested and charged with driving in the wrong direction, driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, possession of a controlled substance, escaping from a road and driving a motor vehicle without a licence.

He was released on $25,000 bail and is due to appear in Manchester Superior Court on January 3, 2023.