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NC trooper resigns, accused of leading police on chase while drunk

WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C. — A highway patrolman in Watauga County has resigned after being accused of driving drunk while leading officers on a chase.

Police said that former trooper, Matthew Grogan, was off-duty driving his pickup truck when he struck another car at the drive-thru at the Cook-Out restaurant in Boone.

Investigators told Channel 9 that Grogan left the scene and then was involved in a short chase east of town.

According to court records, Grogan blew more than twice the legal limit during a breath test after he was pulled over.

Eyewitness News reporter Dave Faherty spoke with the driver who was hit.

The 911 call for help came in from the drive-thru of the CookOut restaurant not far from the campus of Appalachian State University in Boone.

"That (man) is so drunk he cannot even hardly stay in the parking lot here,” the caller said. “He can't hold his head up, and he's about to hit a truck."

Police said Grogan was in this pickup truck when he struck a wall and then backed into Sunnie Sullivan's SUV.

"He would back up, go forward, stall out and then he was just right on the building,” Sunnie Sullivan said.  “I was laying on the horn trying to get him to stop, but he didn't even acknowledge I was back there."

Police said the highway patrolman took off leading to a short police chase east of town along Highway 421.

Grogan did pull over and had an "odor of malt beverage on his breath," according to court documents. He also refused to do a field sobriety test but later blew a 0.19 blood alcohol level, court documents state.  He was charged with DWI, hit-and-run and felony fleeing to elude.

Sullivan is just thankful no one was hurt.

"They're upholding the law, so he should not have broken the law,” Sullivan said.

Channel 9 spoke with the district attorney to find out what happens to all of Grogan's court cases against other drivers. He said no decision has been made yet and it may be done on a case-to-case basis.

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