FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A state trooper shot and injured a woman Wednesday after an attempted traffic stop and pursuit in Flagler County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The shooting happened around 5:45 p.m. near 16th Road and Ocean Crest Drive, just east of Palm Coast.
According to the FHP, troopers initiated a traffic stop on a white Acura for reckless driving and endangering the public, but the woman who was driving refused to stop.
Troopers pursued the fleeing car, and the driver was forced to stop on a dead-end road, officials said. While troopers were attempting to take the woman into custody on allegations of felony fleeing and eluding, she accelerated the vehicle towards a trooper, the FHP said.
The trooper opened fire in an effort to avoid getting struck, the FHP said, adding that the woman suffered gunshot wounds.
According to the FHP, troopers provided immediate aid and summoned fire rescue to assist her. The woman, whose name and age have not been released, was taken to a hospital and continues to recover, the FHP said in a news release issued Thursday.
The trooper who shot the woman and a female passenger in the car were not injured.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the shooting.
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According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the following areas were closed during the incident:
- Hammock Dunes Parkway and16th Road East
- The Old Salt Park Beach Access at the end of 16th Road East
- The parking lot for Atlantic Grille at Hammock Beach Golf Resort
“There is believed to be no danger to the public,” the sheriff’s office posted Wednesday on social media.
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