AUBURN, Mass. — A Massachusetts State Police trooper stopped a pickup truck that was driving the wrong way on Interstate 395 in Auburn early Nov. 1, slowing traffic behind his cruiser and narrowly avoiding a head-on collision, state police said Monday.

The driver, Daniel Macko, 30, of Worcester, was arrested and charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and negligent driving, police said.

According to state police, troopers from the Sturbridge barracks were called at about 12:45 a.m. after several 911 callers reported a wrong-way driver on I-395 in Oxford. Investigators found that the pickup had hit two vehicles in a fast-food restaurant parking lot before heading north into the highway's southbound lanes at Exit 7, police said.

Minutes later, a trooper driving south on I-395 in Auburn radioed that he had turned on his emergency lights and was slowing the traffic behind him to protect drivers headed toward the pickup, state police said. With the other vehicles held back, he turned on his siren as well to try to stop the oncoming truck.

The trooper narrowly avoided a head-on crash and brought the pickup to a stop, police said. His cruiser had minor damage, and no one was hurt, according to state police.

The charges are allegations, and Macko is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

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