CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A former Union County paramedic is accused of leading troopers on a chase down Interstate 85, then ramming two troopers' cars after they finally stopped him.
Thomas Lee Lynch Jr. is facing more than a half-dozen charges stemming from the incident.
Troopers said just after 1:30 p.m. Monday, they received numerous calls from drivers who spotted Lynch in a truck pulling a U-Haul carrier, driving erratically on northbound I-85 near the Gaston County line.
Troopers tried to pull the truck over but said Lynch refused to stop. The troopers finally were able to stop him and block Lynch along the Beatties Ford Road exit ramp.
Witness Walter Taylor said Lynch then rammed his truck into both troopers' cars. Troopers told Eyewitness News they had to break Lynch’s window and pull him out of the truck at gunpoint to take him into custody.
Witness David McKenith said, “I just didn’t want to see them shoot him in the face or nothing because they had him right there and he kept fidgeting too much.”
Eyewitness News learned Lynch worked as a paramedic with Union County EMS for almost 15 years before resigning late last year.
Lynch is now charged with several crimes, including speeding, DWI, assault on a government official with a deadly weapon and possession of a controlled prescription drug. Troopers said they found Fentanyl in Lynch’s wallet that wasn’t prescribed to him. Fentanyl is a painkiller that comes in the form of a patch, often used to treat cancer patients.
One of the troopers whose car was rammed suffered a minor shoulder injury, but is expected to be okay.
WSOC
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