RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A driver wounded in a gunfire exchange with a trooper and a deputy was seen holding a gun by several 911 callers after she crashed along an interstate highway, according to recordings released Monday.
A dozen people called 911 to report the aftermath of the single-vehicle crash east of Raleigh on Saturday morning, but none of the calls released by the Johnston County Sheriff described the gunfire.
At least three callers said the driver had a gun, while two reported the car had passed them going around 100 mph.
One caller who stopped to help at the scene along I-40 near Benson was advised by a dispatcher to leave for safety reasons. She later called back to report the gun.
“I did want to tell you my husband noticed she’s got a pistol in the back of her pants,” the caller said.
The Highway Patrol said in a news release the driver of the crashed car, Tina Medlin, was critically wounded after she shot at a trooper and a sheriff’s deputy, who both returned fire. The two officers, who weren’t hurt, have been place on leave pending an investigation by state agents, which is standard procedure.
A State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman referred questions about Medlin’s condition on Monday to a Raleigh hospital, which said it had no information to release. The Raleigh resident is in her early 50s.
Medlin’s mother told The News and Observer that her daughter didn’t own a gun.
“She’s never shot one,” Janet Medlin told the newspaper. “We have questions, too.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.