Officer dragged by vehicle shoots driver dead in rural Northern California, CHP says
A driver ran over a California Highway Patrol officer, who then fatally shot the driver Tuesday morning in rural Northern California, authorities said.
The incident began about 9:30 a.m. near the town of Linda in Yuba County. CHP Yuba-Sutter spokesman Officer Brian Danielson said officers were looking for a reported stolen vehicle in the area of Dunning Avenue near Hammonton-Smartsville Road.
“We had an officer go out with a vehicle, made contact with a driver. The driver reversed it and caught the officer in the door,” Danielson said.
While caught in the door of the suspect vehicle, the officer fired at the suspect with his duty firearm, striking him. The Honda Accord then collided into a nearby fence, Danielson said.
Other responding officers attempted life-saving measures on the driver, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, Danielson said.
The CHP officer was taken to a hospital with injuries Danielson described as “moderate.”
The deceased suspect was later identified as 34-year-old Ronald Charles Trapp of Marysville.
Danielson said no shots were fired by Trapp and that the CHP officer was not hit by gunfire.
The Yuba-Sutter Sheriff’s Office Officer-Involved Shooting Investigation Team along with California Department of Justice OIS Investigation Team are investigating the incident at the request of CHP.
This story was originally published April 19, 2022 at 10:37 AM.
