A Hermitage man was killed and a Greenville man was injured in a head-on collision Tuesday night on the Shenango Valley Freeway in Hermitage.

Nick Hartis, 75, of 276 Sunset Blvd., Hermitage, was pronounced dead by Mercer County Coroner Brad McGonigle around 10:30 p.m. at UPMC Horizon, Farrell.

The 2001 Buick Century Hartis was driving the wrong direction in the eastbound lanes of the freeway collided with a 1987 Cadillac driven by Charles Hawkins, Jr., 42, of 347 Hadley Road, Hempfield Township, police said. Hawkins was driving east when the cars slammed into each other at about 8:45 p.m. in front of John XXIII Home, 2250 Shenango Valley Freeway, police said.

Hawkins had to be freed from the wreckage with the aid of a hydraulic prying tool used by Hermitage firefighters. Police said only that Hawkins was "taken to the hospital." A Sharon Regional Health System nursing supervisor said Wednesday afternoon she could neither confirm nor deny that Hawkins was a patient there. A supervisor Wednesday night said that Hawkins was not a patient at Sharon Regional. There was no record of him at other local hospitals.

Police said they are still investigating the cause of the accident. McGonigle said an autopsy determined Hartis died of injuries he suffered in the wreck.

Obituary published on page B-9.