QUEENS (WABC) — New York State Police are investigating a trooper-involved shooting that took place Friday night in Queens.
Officials say that around 10:45 p.m., Troopers Paul M. Cardona and Kevin T. Hanly were conducting a DWI traffic stop on the Grand Central Parkway when the driver, identified as 22-year-old Wilton Ketter, sped off.
The troopers were eventually able to pull him over, but when they approached the vehicle, officials say Ketter drove towards them.
That’s when Trooper Cardona opened fire, striking Ketter.
A passenger was in the vehicle at the time, but they were not injured.
Ketter was taken to Presbyterian Hospital in Flushing for treatment.
The situation that unfolded left local residents in shock.
“I just heard pop, pop and that drew my attention,” said Thomasina Welsh to Eyewitness News, before adding, “Then I saw the cops coming and the lights. I saw the lights; I said no that was gunshots. I moved from the window.”
Welsh lives just steps from the Grand Central Parkway.
The Parkway was shutdown for hours after the chaotic scene, as state troopers started their investigation.
The NYPD and the Queens County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the incident alongside the New York State Police.
Welsh says her family has lived in their home for decades and she’s seen the changes along the Grand Central Parkway.
She noted that the main problem these days isn’t the traffic.
“Not so much a lot of cars, but at night, the speeders,” she shared.
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