A hospitalized Maryland prisoner shot a corrections officer watching his room Thursday, hijacked a taxi and led police on a car chase before he was caught several miles away, authorities said. The 44-year-old officer, who was shot in the face, was listed in critical condition.

The inmate, Brandon Morris, 20, had been taken to Washington County Hospital on Wednesday for an undisclosed condition. Before daybreak Thursday, he grabbed the officer's gun and shot him, authorities said. Morris then ran out to the hospital parking lot and forced a taxi driver to take him toward Pennsylvania, authorities said.

The driver kept his radio open so dispatchers could relay information to police who were in pursuit, then crashed the cab just over the state line. The inmate ran off but was arrested in an industrial park near Hagerstown, authorities said. The cabdriver was not hurt.