An SUV rammed a state patrol squad car pulled over on the shoulder of a slick Maplewood highway Wednesday morning in a wreck that injured the trooper behind the wheel, authorities said.

The crash occurred about 9:50 a.m. along eastbound Hwy. 36 at Hwy. 61, said Patrol Lt. Tiffani Nielson.

The injured trooper, Vameng Yang, 36, was taken by a supervisor to Regions Hospital with noncritical injuries, Nielson said.

The SUV driver, Jonathon Holmgren, 63, of South St. Paul, was ticketed for failure to use due care.

Yang was stopped to investigate a crash that had just occurred, Nielson said. The squad car's flashing lights were on.

Nielson said Yang could see the SUV coming at him from behind seconds before the impact.

While the slippery conditions did contribute to Holmgren losing control of his SUV, he "was driving too fast for the conditions," Nielson said.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482