Driver facing charges in wrong-way crash in Peabody that left trooper hospitalized

A 41-year-old Newburyport man is facing criminal charges in connection with a wrong-way crash with a state police cruiser in Peabody early Sunday morning, officials said.

Troopers responding to a reported wrong-way driver traveling south in the northbound lane around 2 a.m. learned Lucas Gustavo Brajak DeAlmeida Bendetto, 41, had just hit a responding trooper’s vehicle, according to state police.

Both he and the trooper who was struck were taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

DeAlmeida Benedetto is expected to be arraigned Monday in Peabody District Court on charges including operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and driving the wrong way on a state highway.

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