A Minnesota-based Somali truck driver was stopped after driving southbound in a northbound lane for about three miles on U.S. Highway 61 near Troy, Missouri.
Incident details
A passing motorist recorded an 18-wheeler traveling at high speed in the wrong direction, narrowly avoiding head-on collisions before a citizen pulled over and followed the truck while contacting police.
Troopers from the Missouri State Highway Patrol intercepted the vehicle after it crossed the median back to the correct side, and no injuries or collisions were reported.
Officials estimated the loaded tractor-trailer weighed about 80 tons and traveled for roughly three miles in the wrong lane.
The driver was identified as Abdiasis Ibrahim Ali, a Somali-born Minnesota resident who holds a commercial driver’s license issued by Minnesota.
Authorities say his immigration status has not been publicly declared as illegal or undocumented, while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was notified as part of the active investigation.
Troopers report Ali failed a Highway Traffic Sign Assessment and could not speak proficient English, and he was placed out of service and prohibited from continuing to drive.
His co-driver, Abdulahi Abshir Alim, who had been resting in the sleeper berth, took control of the truck at the scene.
Both individuals’ CDLs and the trucking company are based in Minnesota, and federal reviews of logbooks and toxicology tests are ongoing, according to a report from the New York Post.
Lincoln County prosecutors have filed misdemeanor charges against Ali for driving in the wrong direction on a divided highway and operating a motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner.
A no-bond arrest warrant was requested but Ali was not taken into custody at the scene as the investigation continues with involvement from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
A Missouri Department of Transportation spokesperson warned that wrong-way incidents at highway speeds often end in fatalities and called this event a clear federal safety violation.
Federal rules require drivers to demonstrate English competency to read signs and communicate with inspectors, though enforcement varies by state.
The Transportation Department has threatened to withhold funding from multiple Democrat-controlled states, including California, over issuing CDLs to foreign nationals who fail to meet requirements and illegal aliens.
