BOSTON -- A Boston firefighter appeared in Wrentham District Court Wednesday, charged with drunken driving after he allegedly caused a three-vehicle crash while driving the wrong way on Interstate 495 in Wrentham.

NewsCenter 5's Pam Cross reported that Matthew McCaffrey, 29, is a new Boston firefighter and just finished Boston College Law School and is two weeks from taking the bar exam.

As he left court his only comment was that he felt "horrible."

Troopers said the man was driving his 2002 Chevrolet K1500 truck southbound on the northbound section of the highway and hit a 2006 Hyundai sedan, which then slammed into a 2006 Chevrolet sedan. The Hyundai's driver was hospitalized with two broken legs and a broken arm.

"They were following the vehicle in excess of about 100 mph as it continued southbound in the northbound lanes of travel. They were attempting to alert the operator that he was traveling on the wrong side of the roadway," Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Robert Bousquet said.

In court, prosecutors said the truck was speeding the wrong way for 12 or 15 miles before the crash.

"The troopers did observe from him at the scene, a strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot glassy eyes, and he had slurred speech and stating that he did not know what happened," the prosecutor said.

Court records indicate that in 2003 McCaffrey pleaded guilty to drunk driving in Maine and has other alcohol and speeding offenses on his record. The Boston Fire Department placed him on paid leave. He was allowed to leave court without bail.

Other drivers called police while troopers used a rolling roadblock, halting most vehicles approaching the wrong-way vehicle.

"Unfortunately, the rolling roadblock was unable to stop all vehicles, and two vehicles that were continuing northbound in the left travel lane were struck by that pickup that was traveling southbound," Bousquet said.

McCaffrey, of West Roxbury, was arrested on the scene and charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and various other charges, including speeding. He was taken to Milford Hospital where he was treated and released.

The operator of the Hyundai was identified as Joseph Cabral III, 41, of Taunton. The operator of the Chevrolet sedan, Kimba Ngoy, 43, of Milford, Mass., was transported with minor injuries to Milford Hospital.

State police said that they tried to stop McCaffrey.

"You can't follow directly behind the vehicle, because all you are doing is creating another problem, so you shadow the vehicle beside it trying to alert it with your lights so that the operator maybe gets the idea that, 'Maybe I am doing something wrong here,'" Bousquet said.

Traffic was diverted onto Route 140 and allowed to rejoin the highway at exit 17.

The accident happened about 3:30 a.m. and prompted officers to close the highway near Route 1A in Wrentham.