PHOENIX – Officials at the Ministry of Public Security are investigating after authorities say a trooper was deliberately hit by a vehicle and then fired his weapon.
The incident occurred early Saturday morning on Interstate 17 north at the Cactus Road exit.
DPS says it started when a trooper spotted a gray sedan on I-17 traveling more than 100 miles per hour.
The trooper attempted to stop the sedan as it exited I-17 on Cactus Road.
The sedan driver drove through a traffic light, lost control and turned around, DPS said.
At that point, the driver got out of the vehicle and ran.
The trooper started chasing the person when the driver of a second vehicle, a white Chevrolet Tahoe, hit the trooper with the vehicle.
According to DPS, the person running from the scene jumped into the Tahoe.
“Fearing for his life,” the trooper fired his weapon at the driver of the Tahoe driving off Cactus Road, DPS officials said.
The trooper was taken to a hospital for treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
Phoenix Police Department officers later found the Tahoe near 19th Avenue and Cactus Road.
The driver of the Tahoe, who was identified as an adult woman in her late teens, was taken into custody and taken to hospital for serious injuries sustained from the trooper’s shots.
DPS said the sedan’s driver was not found.
As an investigation progresses, the northern I-17 and Cactus off ramp, as well as the eastern Cactus of I-17, will remain closed.