MT. GILEAD, Ohio (WTVN)--A trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol was involved in a fiery, wrong-way crash in Morroe County early Thursday morning.
Investigators say the trooper was responding to a report of an impaired driver, and was heading north on I-71 around 2:30AM, when a car heading south in the northbound lanes struck the trooper's cruiser.
The impact caused both vehicles to catch fire. A Good Samaritan stopped to provide assistance, and was also injured.
The trooper and Good Samaritan were taken to hospitals in Columbus for treatment. The wrong-way driver was taken to a hospital in Mansfield.
##UPDATE## The trooper involved has been identified as Jason Phillips. He was taken to OSU Wexner Medical Center in critical condition following the crash. The wrong-way driver has been identified as 36-year-old Michael Marchak Jr. of Mansfield. The patrol says Marchak was the driver that Trooper Phillips was sent to investigate.