A 44-year-old Canton man is facing nine felony charges after he admitted to intentionally ramming an Ohio State Highway Patrol cruiser during a traffic stop on Interstate 70 in Muskingum County last Monday, injuring the trooper and two other people. Michael H. McGuire Jr. was driving westbound on I-70 on September 7 when he struck the rear of the parked patrol car, which was then forced into the vehicle the trooper had pulled over.
According to WHIZ, the trooper had conducted a traffic stop on the right berm of I-70 when McGuire's car struck the cruiser from behind. Per the OSHP press release cited by the station, the trooper and two occupants of the stopped vehicle, a 2013 Toyota Corolla, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to Genesis Hospital in Zanesville. Local outlet AVC News reported that McGuire was driving westbound on I-70 in Muskingum County when the collision occurred during the busy Labor Day weekend travel period.
The Muskingum County Prosecutor's Office has since filed a criminal complaint against McGuire, charging him with two counts of felonious assault on a peace officer and seven counts of felonious assault related to the occupants of the stopped vehicle, the station reported. McGuire admitted to intentionally striking the patrol car, according to the OSHP press release relayed by the outlet. The crash remains under investigation, per the same press release.
What McGuire Could Face in Court
The charges carry significant weight under Ohio law. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 2903.11, felonious assault on a peace officer is classified as a first-degree felony, carrying a potential sentence of 3 to 11 years in prison, with mandatory prison terms applying under qualifying circumstances. That statute covers the two counts tied directly to the trooper.
The seven additional counts, tied to the occupants of the stopped Corolla, fall under a different classification. Legal analysis published by Zukerman Law indicates that standard felonious assault in Ohio is a second-degree felony, carrying a penalty range of 2 to 8 years in prison and fines up to $15,000 per count. Combined, the nine counts expose McGuire to a lengthy potential prison term if convicted on all charges.
A Multi-Agency Response on a Dangerous Stretch of Highway
The crash drew a large emergency response. AVC News reported that five local agencies responded to the scene, including New Concord Fire and EMS, Perry Fire and EMS, Washington Township EMS, Genesis EMS, and the Muskingum County Sheriff's Office. That kind of coordinated response is typical for rural interstate crashes, which often rely on joint efforts from neighboring townships.
The injured were taken to Genesis Hospital in Zanesville, which operates as a Level III Trauma Center and serves as the primary emergency and trauma receiving facility for Muskingum County, according to Genesis HealthCare System. The stretch of I-70 where the crash occurred is part of a 225-mile corridor spanning 10 Ohio counties that serves as a primary east-west commercial and commuter route through Zanesville and the surrounding region, per Wikipedia.
Roadside Crashes Remain a Persistent Danger
Collisions involving parked patrol vehicles are not rare in Ohio. Official data released by the Ohio State Highway Patrol showed that 62 Move Over-related crashes involving patrol vehicles occurred statewide between 2021 and 2025, causing two fatalities and injuring 16 troopers and 27 civilians. Under Ohio's Move Over Law, codified as Ohio Revised Code Section 4511.213, drivers approaching a stationary emergency or service vehicle with flashing lights are required to change lanes or slow down, with non-compliance subject to doubled misdemeanor fines, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation.
State lawmakers have been pushing to toughen those penalties further. Proposed Ohio House Bill 132 would create a tiered penalty system for Move Over violations, with fines reaching $5,000 and license suspensions for injury-causing crashes, and fines up to $10,000 in fatal incidents, according to the Statehouse News Bureau. The bill was named after a roadside worker killed in the line of duty.
The crash near Zanesville also came during an especially deadly stretch on Ohio roads. The Ohio State Highway Patrol recorded 12 fatal traffic crashes resulting in 12 deaths statewide during its four-day 2026 Labor Day weekend enforcement campaign, according to AVC News. McGuire's case remains under investigation as it moves through the Muskingum County court system.
