A routine stop off of Interstate 70 took an unexpected turn, Monday morning, leaving an Ohio State Highway Patrolman shaken and the driver injured. The St. Clairsville post says that one of their patrolmen observed a vehicle parked at a rest stop, and upon running the license plate, discovered that the vehicle was reported stolen out of New York. Other troopers arrived after a call for backup, and ordered the driver to leave the vehicle. The patrol says the driver did not respond to several commands to step out of the vehicle, and one trooper approached to pull the suspect out.
As the patrolman neared the back of the vehicle, the suspect reportedly accelerated, in reverse, and veered towards the trooper. The patrolman was able to move out of harm’s way, and fired one round into the driver’s side window. Officials say that the suspect fled two miles on Interstate 70, exiting at milepost 208. The driver apparently lost control of the vehicle and struck a utility pole. The suspect was transported to a local hospital, due to minor injuries, and will be identified once former charges are filed. According to the highway patrol, the suspect was not struck by the patrolman’s bullet.
