N.C. Officer Dragged When Car Traps Arm while Helping Shooting Victim

An unconscious shooting victim sitting in a vehicle accidentally hit the gas pedal — dragging an officer down the road before crashing in North Carolina on Sunday, Feb. 13, police say.

Officers responded to a 9-1-1 call about a "shooting with injury" around 9:30 a.m. in Rocky Mount, according to a news release from the Rocky Mount Police Department. They arrived at the intersection of Berkshire Road and Sutton Road to find an "unconscious male" with a head injury sitting in the driver's seat of a stopped vehicle.

An officer went to help the victim, who police say "incoherently accelerated."

The officer's arm was trapped in the vehicle, and he was dragged about 15 feet before the vehicle crashed into a firetruck, according to police.

He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. No other first-responders were injured.

The 32-year-old shooting victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to police.

"A preliminary investigation has determined this to be a domestic-related incident," police said. "All parties involved are known to each other. The suspect fled the area before officers arrived. The Rocky Mount Criminal Investigation Division is actively investigating the events that led to the shooting."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Rocky Mount Police Department at 252-972-1411 or Twin County Crime Stoppers at 252-977-1111, police said.

No other information was released Feb. 13.

Rocky Mount is about 60 miles east of Raleigh.

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