Prius driver sprays bullets at trooper before deadly chase, Maryland cops say

A nighttime traffic stop on a Maryland highway led to a sudden shootout and a deadly police chase, troopers said.

The incident began when a state trooper pulled over the driver of a Toyota Prius on a highway in Wicomico County around 10 p.m. on March 6, according to a police press release. Two other people were in the vehicle as well.

While the trooper approached the side of the car, the driver, a 23-year-old man, pulled out a gun and shot him multiple times, police said.

The trooper, a nearly two-decade veteran of the state police, fired back at the car, which sped away into the night, police said.

Soon after, police from a nearby town located the Prius in a rural neighborhood and followed it into a residential area.

Upon reaching a dead-end street, the driver tried to turn around but instead crashed into two cars and a tree before coming to a stop.

“Police surrounded the vehicle and observed (the driver) alone in the vehicle and slumped over the wheel with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound,” police said. A gun was found inside the car, they said.

Several hours later, two men believed to be the car’s other occupants were picked up by police in a neighboring town following a 911 report, police said.

The injured trooper was taken to the hospital and later released. He was then “placed on administrative leave, as is procedure.”

The incident remains under investigation, police said.

This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Prius driver sprays bullets at trooper before deadly chase, Maryland cops say."