A Northwest Indiana police officer was seriously injured after a head-on collision early Saturday, reports the Northwest Indiana Times.

Officer John Swisher, who has been with the Highland (IN) Police Department for more than 10 years, was northbound responding to a call when the crash occurred at 12:57 a.m., Highland Police Cmdr. George Georgeff said Saturday. Two witnesses told police they saw a driver head southbound and cross over left of center before striking Swisher's squad car head on, Georgeff said.

Swisher, also formerly with the Lowell Police Department, was airlifted to Loyola University Hospital in Maywood.

Georgeff said Saturday night that Swisher was in stable condition. Highland firefighters had to extricate Swisher from the vehicle, he said, which took "quite a while." The other driver was also transported to an area hospital with injuries, but other information was not immediately available.