NV State Trooper Appears to Have Been Hit Intentionally by Pickup Truck

The Nevada Highway Patrol said a driver appeared to intentionally speed up to hit a trooper during a traffic stop in the Las Vegas area early Thursday.

The trooper is a member of the Highway Patrol and Metropolitan Police Department’s DUI Strike Team. He was with his partner, a Metro officer, when they pulled over a wrong-way driver on Boulder Highway, near Desert Inn Road, about 1:20 a.m., Highway Patrol spokesman Travis Smaka said during a news conference Thursday afternoon. The trooper was standing outside of his patrol vehicle’s driver door when a truck drove up behind him, appeared to accelerate, and struck him, NHP told the Review-Journal .

 “On the video you can hear an engine accelerating,” Smaka said. “It’s likely that this was an intentional act.”

The trooper dove to avoid the truck but was clipped, Smaka said. He was taken to University Medical Center, treated and released. His name will be released in 48 hours, Smaka said.

The Highway Patrol has not located the driver, Smaka said. It was unclear what charges the person may face.