Former NHLer Erskine hospitalized with severe injuries after highway collision

Former NHL defenseman John Erskine was severely injured in a highway accident early Wednesday morning, his former agent, Pat Morris, confirmed to TSN's Rick Westhead.

According to the Ontario Provincial Police, a collision occurred at 12:48 a.m. Wednesday morning on Highway 401 near the town of Napanee, Ont., after a pickup truck collided with a transport truck while driving the wrong way in the eastbound lanes.

Morris said his former client is hospitalized with severe injuries but did not have any further information.

Police arrested the driver of the pickup truck, a 38-year-old man from Elginburg, Ont., at the scene of the collision. He was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the OPP. The driver of the transport truck was not injured.

An investigation into the accident continues and charges have not yet been laid, OPP spokeswoman Const. Shannon Cork told Westhead on Thursday.

A second-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 1998, Erskine played 491 NHL contests split between the Stars, New York Islanders, and Washington Capitals. The Kingston, Ont., native last played in the league in April 2014.