Wrong-way driver on Highway 60 was Wisconsin man suffering from Alzheimer’s

Authorities say a motorist traveling the wrong way on Highway 60 between Madelia and St. James Tuesday was a Wisconsin man suffering from Alzheimer’s. Watonwan County Chief Deputy Mark Slater says no one was injured during the incident, which was first reported to the sheriff’s office at 3:03 p.m.

Slater said the 79-year-old driver was traveling west in the eastbound lanes at normal highway speeds.  Slater wasn’t certain how the man ended up driving in the wrong lane, or how long he had been traveling the wrong way.

It took deputies about 20 minutes from the initial call to find and catch up to the Prius, which was stopped just west of Highway 4, which southwest of St. James.

The man was taken by ambulance for a medical evaluation and his family was contacted.  Slater said the man is from Wisconsin and had traveled five or six hours from home.  He was not carrying a cell phone.

No one was injured during the incident.