A possibly mentally ill man was potentially stopped from hurting anyone after police stopped him going the wrong way on Hwy 1 through Morro Bay.
According to MBPD Cmdr. Amy Watkins, at 3:55 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23, police were notified by dispatch that County Sheriff deputies were after a wrong-way driver who was going southbound on the northbound side of the segregated Hwy 1. The wrong-way driver was traveling about 45 mph and the driver was failing to yield to the red-blue lights, according to the news release.
MBPD officers responded and went to the South Bay Boulevard interchange to try and stop the vehicle. “The officer used an intervention technique, placing his vehicle in the path of the oncoming car to stop the driver and the vehicle from continuing and potentially injuring others. The intervention was successful, and officers were able to stop the vehicle and made contact with the driver.”
And while it might have been a fair assumption, police said the driver, who they did not identify, wasn’t driving drunk.
“Officers determined the driver was possibly having a mental health episode and was transported to a local area hospital for evaluation,” Cmdr. Watkins said. “No injuries were sustained to the driver or officers. The investigation into this incident is ongoing including evaluation of charges on the driver.”
