Troopers fatally shoot motorist on I-65 after chase in south Alabama
Posted by Staci Brown Brooks ––- Birmingham News April 30, 2009 11:35 PM
Categories: Breaking News
Alabama State Troopers fatally wounded a motorist from Bay Minette who had been driving erratically, led them on a 10-mile chase and rammed a trooper with his vehicle, a trooper spokesman said tonight.

At roughly 1:30 p.m. today, a driver called the Evergreen trooper post to report a reckless driver striking his vehicle, said Trooper John Reese.
 
Here's what happened, according to Reese:

Troopers were sent to intercept the red Geo Tracker, which was traveling north on Interstate 65 in Conecuh County. The vehicle finally stopped near the 105 mile marker.

As a trooper attempted to approach the vehicle, the driver accelerated and struck the trooper and a patrol car. Assisting troopers fired upon the vehicle, which continued to travel into the median and eventually hit a guardrail.

The driver, whose name was not released, was the only person in the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. The injured trooper was hospitalized at Evergreen Hospital in stable condition.

Reese said authorities were in the initial stages of their investigation and are trying to determine why the motorist was driving recklessly.

"Not only was he endangering his life, he was endangering the lives of others as well," Reese said. "That really had us worried about what was going on."
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/04/troopers_fatally_shoot_motoris.html

Good shoot. Don't try to run over a trooper.

Injured trooper out of hospital; ID of fatally shot Bay Minette motorist withheld
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Staff Report

An Alabama State Trooper struck Thursday by a motorist from Bay Minette was released from the hospital Friday, according to trooper spokesman John Reese.

The man was being tailed by several troopers after authorities received a report of an erratic driver traveling north on Interstate 65. He came to a stop near the border of Butler and Conecuh counties, according to Reese, but rammed a trooper as he tried to approach the vehicle.

Other troopers on the scene then opened fire on the driver, fatally wounding him, Reese said.

Citing the "sensitive nature" of the shooting, Reese declined to release the name of the Bay Minette man or the trooper involved.

Reese said the trooper suffered injuries to his legs and was in pain Friday afternoon. The date of his return to duty had not yet been set, Reese said.

Investigators had yet to establish why the man was driving his red Geo Tracker so erratically.

"It's still in the preliminary stages of investigation," Reese said Friday evening.

http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metrobriefs.ssf?/base/news/124125571021890.xml&coll=3