Road Rage Incident Leads To Trooper-Involved Shooting In Norman

A road rage incident ended with a highway patrol trooper firing a gun out of fear for his own safety.

According to investigators, the trooper was attacked by three teens trying to intimidate a driver on the road.

It was bumper-to-bumper for hours along I-35 in Norman on Sunday. That's after the Oklahoma Highway Patrol got a call at 10:30 a.m. from a woman saying she was involved in a road rage incident with another car and needed help.

"When the troopers arrived here at I-35 southbound at Tecumseh, there were several people, three people I believe who were on top of this woman's car kicking her doors, beating her doors, different things like that," said OHP Trooper Betsy Randolph.

Randolph says one trooper told the car of three teenage boys to leave the woman's car alone, but she says they didn't and then started wrestling with the trooper.

9/22/2013 Related Story: Authorities Investigate Trooper-Involved Shooting In Norman

"They rolled down into the ditch where they continued to fight," Randolph said. "The trooper was calling for backup, another unit showed up, which was a Game Warden to assist the trooper and at some point during the altercation, the suspect was shot."

Randolph says she doesn't know if any of the teens had a weapon. Two were arrested and one 16 year old was sent to OU Medical Center with a gunshot wound.

"So it sounds like a situation where emotions were really high. People were upset when the trooper arrived on scene. [It] sounds like it was a crazy ordeal," Randolph said. "We always tell drivers, if you're ever in a road rage incident, never pull over to the side of the road to work it out. It's not safe. Just keep going or call us."

The trooper involved in the fight was treated at the scene for minor injuries. Randolph says the 16-year-old boy being treated has a non-life threatening injury.

The trooper has been placed on paid administrative leave as OHP continues its investigation.