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Police: 82-year-old drunken, wrong-way driver led cops on 2-mile pursuit

EUSTIS, Fla. — Thomas Wrigley, 82, told Channel 9's Renee Stoll that he doesn't remember anything about driving into oncoming traffic through the streets of Eustis.

"You almost had a head-on collision with 12 cars, three of them were police officers," Stoll told Wrigley.

"Thank you. That tells me something I didn't even know," Wrigley said.

Police said he was driving drunk.

According to police, Wrigley was being pulled over for running a red light, but dash camera footage shows he did a lot more than that while he took police on a two-mile pursuit along Bay Street.

In dash camera video from a Eustis police officer's vehicle, Wrigley's SUV is seen crossing the median and heading the wrong way on Bay Street in downtown Eustis. Several cars were forced to take evasive action.

"Do you have anything to say about the people you almost hit?" Stoll asked Wrigley.

"No. I don't even know anything about that," said Wrigley.

Several officers followed Wrigley. They deployed Stop Sticks in an effort to stop him, but Wrigley kept going, despite three flat tires.

He even drove around police who tried to stop him.

When Wrigley eventually did stop, he had difficulty standing for his field sobriety test. Police had to catch him several times to keep him from falling.

At police headquarters he can be seen trying to get out of his handcuffs, while police warned him not to.

"How do I get out of it?" he asked an officer.

"You can't sir, you're under arrest this time, OK," the officer said.

Reports show Wrigley blew nearly twice the legal limit and was charged with driving drunk.

Wrigley told Stoll he believes he's still allowed to drive.

"Are you still driving now?" Stoll asked.

"Well, I still have a driver's license," said Wrigley.