By Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. 鈥� First responders found themselves running for cover when an unconscious motorist suddenly awoke, pulled a gun, according to investigators in North Carolina.
It happened around 11:45 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 18, at an intersection east of Mooresville, according to the Rowan County Sheriff鈥檚 Office. Mooresville is about a 25-mile drive north from Charlotte.
One paramedic was hurt during a fall while seeking cover, the sheriff鈥檚 office said in a news release.
The emergency call was initiated when someone reported 鈥渁n unresponsive driver鈥� sitting at the intersection of Shinn Farm Road and Highway 152.
鈥淯pon arrival, paramedics determined that (the driver) was likely impaired rather than suffering from a medical condition,鈥� officials said. 鈥淲hile awaiting the N.C. Highway Patrol, (he) brandished a handgun and fired a shot.鈥�
The 40-year-old man then jumped in a nearby fire department truck and 鈥渆rratically鈥� drove away, the sheriff鈥檚 office said. He crashed into another vehicle about a mile and a half away on NC 152, then drove across a soybean field into someone鈥檚 yard, officials said.
Deputies apprehended the suspect in the yard. He has been charged with two felony counts of assault on firefighter/specified medical personnel with a firearm, larceny of a motor vehicle, possessing a stolen firearm and driving while impaired, jail records show.
Violence against first responders
A stolen gun was found in the soybean field, officials said.
The suspect 鈥漵ustained minor injuries from the crash,鈥� officials said. The other driver was not hurt, officials said.
The injured paramedic was treated for an arm injury at a hospital and released, officials said.
漏2024 The Charlotte Observer.
Visit .
Distributed by
