An Arkansas State Trooper is in serious condition this morning after a head-on collision on I-40 near Alma that left the other driver dead.

A release from the Arkansas State Police says that Trooper First Class Roy Moomey, 41, was dispatched today just after 3:30 a.m. after a report of a driver going the wrong direction in the eastbound lane of I-40 near the highway weigh station at Alma. Moomey’s patrol car was hit head on as he tried to stop that vehicle. Moomey, a six-year veteran of the State Police, is in serious but stable condition at an area hospital.

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KFSM in Fort Smith reports the other driver, who has not been identified, was killed instantly, while Moomey was trapped in his demolished patrol car for over an hour as firefighters and paramedics worked to free him. A slideshow at that link shows the patrol car mangled by the impact, the roof peeled by those working to free the injured trooper. 

An investigation into the crash is ongoing. 

UPDATE: The driver who died in the accident has been identified as Michael Choate, 24.

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