A man driving the wrong way on Interstate 40 was killed Sunday afternoon in a multi-vehicle crash that also injured four people, including two juveniles.

According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP), 45-year-old Todd Cahill of Shawnee was driving a Jeep Liberty eastbound in the westbound lanes of the interstate and struck three vehicles. Cahill was ejected almost 100 feet from the Jeep in the third collision and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The OHP reported that Cahill’s vehicle initially hit a Ford Expedition driven by Jack Chapman, 82, of Calvin and continued eastbound, striking a Kia SUV driven by Klint Impson, 41, of Ft. Gibson. Chapman did not sustain any injuries, but Impson and his three passengers, two of them juveniles, were pinned inside the SUV for approximately 45 minutes and were freed by the Strother Fire Department. All four were transported to the OU Medical Center.

Cahill then hit a Dodge Ram pickup driven by Christopher Lantz, 33, of Oklahoma City in the outside lane, causing Cahill’s vehicle to overturn and eject him. The pickup in turn struck a BMW driven by Remzi Derti, 66, of Denison, Texas. Neither Lantz nor Derti were injured.

The crash occurred at approximately 10:24 a.m. Sunday near mile marker 197, about three miles west of the Seminole/Prague exit. The westbound lanes of the interstate were shut down for several hours and drivers were detoured at US-377/SH-99 to SH-99A west to SH-9A then north to I-40.

According to a press release from the Oklahoma National Guard, six soldiers from the 545th Brigade Engineer Battalion and one soldier from the 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, were returning to Norman after completing several days of training at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, when they came upon the accident scene.

The guardsmen immediately began to assess the injured and render critical aid until first responders arrived. The soldiers continued supporting first responders until the scene was cleared.

Col. Colby Wyatt, commander of the 45th IBCT, was immediately informed that soldiers under his command were rendering aid at the scene of the accident. “It gives me comfort knowing that our Soldiers have the training, knowledge, and care to do what they can in rendering aid to their fellow Oklahomans in a time of need,” Wyatt said.

The crash was investigated by Trooper Denver Lee #461, of the Seminole County detachment of Troop D. Lee was assisted by Trooper Brian Iker #333, Trooper Tim Baker #260, Trooper Ty Wallace #485, Trooper Dion Wild #732, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Seminole Nation Lighthorse Police Department.

Cahill’s condition and the cause of the crash remained under investigation at press time.