Trooper dragged, kills suspect on I-83 in York County
Police investigate a crash and a death in the southbound lanes of Interstate 83 in Manchester Township.(Photo: Paul Kuehnel, York Daily Record)
As he was being dragged, the trooper shot the driver, according to police.
(York) — A State Police trooper shot and killed the driver of a vehicle Tuesday after the driver tried to crush him against the cement median along Interstate 83.
Police said the trooper stopped the vehicle on I-83 South near mile marker 24, the Emigsville exit, for a traffic violation around 1:15 p.m.
The trooper and driver had some sort of interaction before the driver fled in the car, according to Cpl. Ryan Lawrence, a state police spokesman. Lawrence could not yet say how long that interaction lasted. Lawrence declined comment on what the traffic violation was.
After the driver fled, the trooper became “stuck to the left side of the vehicle,” state police wrote in the release. How that happened is unknown at this time, Lawrence said. The driver dragged the trooper about three-10ths of a mile, during which he attempted to ram the trooper against the median, police said.
The trooper, fearing for his safety and the public’s safety, fired his weapon, striking and killing the driver, police said, adding that they are not releasing the number of bullets fired.
The trooper had attempted to use his Taser but never did, Lawrence said.
State police will look at video recorded by a camera in the trooper’s cruiser, the corporal added.
Cpl. Ryan Lawrence of the Pennsylvania State Police comments on the shooting on I-83 Tuesday. Gordon Rago, York Daily Record
The driver, whose identity has not been released, died at the scene. The car displays a Virginia license plate.
The trooper suffered injuries that do not appear to be life threatening, police said. The trooper received medical attention.
A box truck also was struck at some point toward the end of the incident. The driver was not injured.
Southbound 83 was closed for nearly 6 hours as police investigated the Manchester Township incident. Northbound had been closed but reopened at about 3 p.m.
Central York and the Northeastern school districts warned parents that school buses might be delayed because of the highway shutdown.
The York County District Attorney’s Office was contacted, spokesman Kyle King said. He declined to comment further and referred questions to state police.
An autopsy will be performed Wednesday morning, according to a news release issued late Tuesday night by the York County Coroner’s Office. The office also did not release the man’s name or age.
Previous case in Glen Rock
It was just over a year ago, on Nov. 4, 2015, that a Southern Regional Police officer was dragged about 50 yards while investigating a case in Glen Rock.
He was responding to a report of suspected drug activity, when he was pulled partly into a car by a passenger and then dragged down Water Street.
The York County Coroner responded to a crash on I-83 on Tuesday afternoon.
The passenger then let the officer go, and the car, which had been traveling at a high rate of speed, fled the area. Suspects were identified and later arrested.
Officer Michael Storeman was treated for his injuries and later released from the hospital.
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