Wrong-way driver stopped after 12 miles on Phoenix-area freeway

PHOENIX – A wrong-way driver went 12 miles on a Phoenix-area freeway early Thursday before he was forced to stop, authorities said.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety said in an email the car was heading southbound in northbound lanes of Loop 101 near Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale around 2 a.m.

The driver, Kevin David Staab, 40, of Scottsdale, made it all the way to the freeway’s Broadway Road exit in Tempe. He was finally stopped by Salt River police near Apache Boulevard.

There were no reports of collisions, despite roadways wet from about an inch of rain that fell in parts of Scottsdale on Wednesday.

ABC15 reported a Lyft driver who had passengers in his car saw the other car coming toward them and was able to get out of the way.

Tyler Denton caught part of the drive in Scottsdale on his dashcam, the station said.

The wrong-way driver was taken into custody on suspicion of aggravated DUI.

By mid-September, Arizona highway troopers had arrested 101 wrong-way DUI drivers on the year.

Follow @KTAR923