Police stop two wrong-way drivers on Southern State Parkway

New York State Police guided a pair of wrong-way drivers to safety on the Southern State Parkway near Bay Shore on Friday night and Saturday morning, troopers said in a news release.

In both instances confused drivers were headed west in the eastbound lanes in the vicinity of Exit 42 in Bay Shore, police said. No arrests were made in either incident.

The first driver, stopped by police around 9:30 p.m. Friday, had been reported missing by family. A Suffolk County Highway Patrol officer assisted troopers in the stop and the driver was turned over to Suffolk County detectives before being reunited with family.

The second stop occurred about 5 a.m. Saturday as an elderly driver approached Exit 41, where he began to enter the southbound ramp in a northbound direction, police said. Troopers were able to stop the vehicle on the ramp.

The driver in the later incident was from out of state. He was transported to a local hospital as police notified his family, troopers said.