Video: Trooper strikes accused drunk driver traveling wrong way in Polk County with kid in car

A woman accused of being drunk and driving in the wrong direction with a child in the backseat was arrested after a trooper performed a P.I.T. maneuver to disable her vehicle.

admin September 10, 2026 2 minutes read

LAKELAND, Fla. – A woman accused of being drunk and driving in the wrong direction with a child in the backseat was arrested after a trooper performed a P.I.T. maneuver to disable her vehicle.

Lakeland traffic alert

What we know:

Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, Lakeland police alerted the Tampa Bay Regional Communication Center about an officer tracking a wrong-way car on S.R. 580. A patrolling trooper said he executed a U-turn and drove west toward the oncoming vehicle.

The trooper said he flashed emergency lights and sounded his siren, weaving across both lanes of the highway to force the driver to slow down.

However, according to the arrest report, the car continued heading straight toward the patrol vehicle at 50-60 mph. Deeming a head-on block too dangerous at those speeds, the trooper said he attempted a sideswipe clip but missed.

The trooper said the wrong-way vehicle continued east in the westbound lanes against oncoming traffic. The trooper said he turned around, followed the car in the wrong direction, and performed a successful P.I.T. maneuver to disable the vehicle.

Upon approaching the car, the trooper said the driver, later identified as Natalia Gorecki, asked, “what the hell did I do that for?”

According to FHP, the trooper discovered her 7-year-old daughter in a rear car seat and turned the child over to her grandmother before beginning a DUI investigation.

Gorecki, according to the trooper had red, glassy eyes, smelled like alcohol, and showed signs of impairment during field sobriety exercises.