DAYTON, Ohio -- A man that caused two wrecks is in the hospital in serious condition this morning and police say when he's released they expect him to face a tidal wave of traffic charges. Police say the man's wild ride began about 3:15 a.m. in the southbound lanes of Interstate 75 near the Route 4 interchange and Webster Street.

That area is known as Malfunction Junction and officers said that is how they would describe what happened this time around. Dayton police had cruisers blocking part of the road in that area and warning drivers after a big rig drove off the road there at about 1 a.m.

Officers said the driver of the station wagon barreled right into the side of one of the parked cruisers, then hit a guardrail and spun to a stop facing northbound in the southbound lanes of 75. Police said when officers walked toward the car to talk with the driver they noticed two passengers in the back seat. The driver didn't want to stick around. They said he floored it and took off the wrong way in the southbound lanes.

The station wagon's driver headed into the construction zone near Stanley Avenue where the road is down to two lanes with concrete barriers on either side. He came upon two truck drivers with their big rigs traveling side-by-side. Police said a gas tanker truck in the high speed lane went right to try to avoid a head-on crash and brushed the bumper of the big rig next to him. Police said the station wagon still hit the tanker truck's driver steps, fuel tanks and trailer and then spun into the concrete barrier. The repeated crashes crushed the entire front end of the station wagon, peeling back the hood.

Police said the driver and the two passengers hopped out of the car to get away. Officers found the two passengers actually walking on the freeway and said they spotted the driver jumping over a barrier and running along the riverbed in that area back towards Keowee Streeet. Officers caught up with him about a half mile later at the Keowee Street bridge over the river. They called in paramedics to take him to the hospital and say adrenaline must have carried him that far because he had severe injuries. Police said he's listed in serious but stable condition at the hospital.

Dayton Police Sgt. George Hammann said with everything going on it's amazing no one died. He said "this could have been a triple fatal with all the damage on that station wagon, yes it could have been much worse, we're actually happy with the way it worked out".

Police said that with the help of Ohio State troopers and Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies they managed to get traffic stopped before anyone on southbound 75 smashed into the back of the station wagon or the two trucks disabled by the station wagon. Investigators closed the highway down for about three and a half hours, finally re-opening the southbound lanes of Interstate 75 into Downtown Dayton at about 6:45 a.m.

Police said they are familiar with the station wagon's driver and have dealt with him in the past. They'll talk with prosecutors and expect him to face a number of charges due to this series of bad driving decisions.