A “stoned” driver spent 40 minutes tearing 31 miles down a motorway in the wrong direction before police finally stopped her.
The 32-year-old German woman drove the wrong way for more than 50km (31 miles) along the Apennine stretch of Italy’s A1 motorway, between the Panoramica and Direttissima sections.
After a pursuit lasting more than 40 minutes, she was finally forced to stop by motorway police.
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She was subsequently found to have cannabis in her system.
The incident took place on the morning of 20 August but was only made public yesterday (1 September).
It began when the woman, driving a minivan with German number plates, suddenly turned around at the Citerna pass on the A1 Panoramica, heading the wrong way towards Barberino di Mugello.
Dozens of reports were made to the emergency services, while road sensors had already detected the vehicle travelling in the wrong direction.
Six motorway police patrols were sent to the scene, and sections of the A1 between Barberino di Mugello and Roncobilaccio were temporarily closed.
Despite these measures, the risk to other motorists remained extremely high because of the heavy traffic at the time, as reported by Need To Know.
The woman was first intercepted by a patrol from Pian del Voglio, but ignored their order to stop and continued driving.
When she reached the Barberino junction, she turned around again, cutting across traffic on four lanes and evading a second roadblock.
After reaching the Barberino toll booth, she set off towards Bologna with officers in pursuit, before reversing and once again driving the wrong way back towards Barberino.
For more than 40 minutes, the minivan repeatedly disappeared from surveillance cameras as the woman took service roads in an attempt to hide.
She was eventually stopped when police, working with motorway staff, physically blocked the carriageways and left her with no way to continue.
The woman was found in a highly agitated state and was taken to hospital in Borgo San Lorenzo, where tests showed that she was intoxicated with cannabis.
She only fully regained her composure several hours later.
The woman was reported for dangerous driving and driving under the influence of drugs.
Her driving licence and vehicle were confiscated, while a small quantity of marijuana found on a seat inside the vehicle was also seized.
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