North Carolina wrong-way driver charged after crash on Route 33

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo police have charged a North Carolina man after a wrong-way crash on eastbound Interstate 33 Sunday morning.

The two-car crash happened shortly after 2:30 a.m. near the Best Street exit and forced the highway to be closed for several hours.

According to accident investigators, a Ford Edge traveling on the wrong side of 33 collided head-on with another vehicle.

The struck vehicle, a white SUV, found itself balanced on the central barrier of the highway, its hood and front crumpled.

Buffalo police said the driver of the white SUV, a 25-year-old Cheektowaga man, was taken by ambulance to ECMC where he was taken to surgery to be treated for multiple injuries.

No update on his condition has been provided.

After the crash, a 43-year-old North Carolina man was arrested and charged with drunken driving, vehicular assault and other charges, according to a Buffalo police spokesperson.

The name of the wrong-way driver has not been released, but police say he was not injured in the crash.

Route 33 was reopened to traffic a few hours after the scene was cleared.