PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona state trooper says he was just trying to keep everyone safe when he used his SUV as a barricade to stop a wrong-way vehicle on Interstate 17.

Trooper Jeremy Barr said the Aug. 22 incident was the sixth time he has encountered a wrong-way vehicle during his dozen or so years with the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the third time he has collided with one to keep it from hitting oncoming traffic.

Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead described the 36-year-old trooper's actions as heroic, saying Barr turned his patrol SUV in front of the wrong-way vehicle and stopped it by pushing it into a rock ledge.

Barr is now recovering from fractured and herniated disks at his home in the Prescott area.

He said he was just trying to take care of business in a job that is inherently dangerous.

"I don't see myself as a hero. I'm just a guy that was on duty," Barr said during a news conference Wednesday. "I just happened to be the guy on duty at the time."

The incident took place about 6 a.m. north of the Sunset Point Rest Area. The truck was traveling north in southbound lanes.

Barr said he received appreciative messages from the public while he recovered in the hospital.

"People from all over the state ... the outpouring of support, the messages, the calls," he said . "At first it was a little overwhelming. Sitting in the hospital, my wife and I were trying to respond and send as many messages back as possible."

Barr said most of the wrong-way drivers he has encountered have involved drug and alcohol impairment or medical problems like dementia.