Published Thursday, May 2, 2019 | 8:17 a.m.
Updated Thursday, May 2, 2019 | 3:12 p.m.
The driver of a pickup truck that clipped a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper early today in the east valley might have hit him intentionally, authorities said.
As the pickup accelerated, the trooper jumped out of the way, escaping serious injuries, Trooper Travis Smaka said. “He’s banged up, but we’re lucky he’s not severely injured,” Smaka said of the trooper, whose name was not released.
The driver left the scene and remained unidentified, Smaka said.
The incident happened during a traffic stop on Boulder Highway, near Desert Inn Road, Smaka said.
The trooper and a Metro Police officer, part of a DUI strike team, were driving north on Boulder Highway, toward the county jail, to book a suspect when they encountered a wrong-way driver, Smaka said.
They stopped the vehicle and called a backup unit, Smaka said.
The trooper was standing just outside the cruiser when the pickup, which was also northbound, hit him, Smaka said. His body camera recorded audio of the truck accelerating and the trooper groaning in pain.
He was treated for lower-body injuries and has since been released from University Medical Center, Smaka said.
