Officials: NC trooper shoots speeding driver during traffic stop

PRINCETON, N.C. — The North Carolina Highway Patrol says one of its troopers shot an armed suspect during a traffic stop.

The patrol said in a news release that a trooper on Thursday stopped a car that was traveling 96 mph in a 55 mph zone on U.S. Highway 70 in Johnston County.

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According to the patrol, an altercation ensued with the driver, Darius Rogers, who was armed with a handgun. The trooper shot the driver. The news release said the driver was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries.

The trooper was identified as J.M. Dorsey. He wasn't injured.

Neighbors said they heard two to three shots.

"I was just sitting in there watching TV and I heard something that sounded like gunshots,” said George Griswold. “I run to the door and all that commotion was going on."

The patrol has asked the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to look into the shooting along with its own internal investigation, which is standard in trooper-involved shootings.

Associated Press