Carlyle man driving wrong way killed in fiery crash near SIUE

A state trooper used his patrol car as a wedge to save the life of a motorist after a fiery car crash Monday night on Interstate 255 near Edwardsville.

At about 10:21 p.m. Monday, a 1993 Ford Ranger was traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of Interstate 255 and collided head-on with a 2005 Cadillac STS, driven by Ralph Bishop, 61, of Pocahontas.

“When a witness arrived on the scene, the Ford Ranger was fully engulfed in flame,” said Trooper Scott Becker with the Illinois State Police.

State police, Pontoon Beach Police and Madison County Sheriff’s deputies soon arrived, but they faced a problem: the front end of the Ford Ranger was jammed against the driver’s side door of the Cadillac, and the intense heat was beginning to melt the door, Becker said.

So Trooper Joshua Korando backed his patrol car up to the Cadillac and used it like a wedge, shoving the Cadillac away from the Ford Ranger. That allowed emergency workers to rescue Bishop.

“If he hadn’t done that, there’s a good chance (Bishop) would be dead,” Becker said.

The driver of the Ford Ranger was Max Davis, 24, of Carlyle, who was declared dead at the scene. According to a statement from the Madison County Coroner’s Office, there was no way to tell if he had been wearing a seat belt or if airbags had been deployed. The autopsy showed that Davis suffered blunt trauma to the head, chest and abdomen. Further testing will be conducted to determine if smoke inhalation played a role in his death, and routine testing for drugs and alcohol will be performed. Davis was identified with dental records, according to the coroner’s office.

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Bishop was flown to a St. Louis-area hospital, and his condition was not immediately available.

The accident took place near the interchange between I-255 and New Poag Road, a rural route that leads past the entrance of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and into downtown Edwardsville.

The crash is under investigation by the Illinois State Police. Funeral arrangements for Davis are pending at the Zieren Funeral Home in Carlyle.

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Carlyle man driving wrong way killed in fiery crash near SIUE."