Video shows the moment man was almost hit by a drunk driver on a Massachusetts highway

GROTON – A man was almost hit by a wrong-way driver on a Massachusetts highway and he has the video to prove it. The driver was later arrested.

“My wife was planning a funeral today,” driver Max Collins told WBZ-TV on Monday.

Collins was driving on Interstate 93 South from his hockey league in Salem, New Hampshire, to his home in Groton on Sunday evening. He was in Methuen at 10:47 p.m. when he decided to change lanes. That decision may have saved his life.

Seconds later, a car zoomed past him, going the wrong way in the left lane he had just driven. His dashboard camera captured the entire incident on video.

“I’ve been thinking about that all day,” Collins said. ‘It bothers me all day long. I didn’t really sleep much. That fate could bring you so close was truly shocking.”

Collins called 911, but police were already aware of the driver and were on their way. New Hampshire State Police arrested 49-year-old Deirdre Masi of Lowell a short time later.

Masi was charged with driving under the influence, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and criminal threatening.

597 wrong-way accidents

According to AAA, there have been 7,730 wrong-way driving accidents in Massachusetts since 2014. So far there have been 597 in 2024. Experts say there are two factors.

“One is common in many different crash patterns: distraction. Drivers are distracted and may miss where they need to be or be focused on something else. The other is often impairment,” said director of the UMass Transportation Center. Mike Knodler. “Many different things are being done to combat wrong-way driving.”

MassDOT has installed 16 wrong-way vehicle detection systems at various on- and off-ramps across the state. They also investigate any driveways that could be entered in the wrong direction.

Collins is grateful to be alive and uses the terrifying ordeal as a lesson in gratitude.

“The holidays are coming, I’m happy to be there and I think I’m going to enjoy it a little bit more. I knew how quickly it could have been over,” he told WBZ.