The area where the trooper was hit. (Sept. 11, 2012/Courtesy Dudley Wilson)
Trooper Matt Mitchell (NCDPS)MARS HILL, NC (FOX Carolina) -
A North Carolina Highway Patrol officer was hit by a car during a traffic stop in Madison County on Tuesday afternoon.
The crash happened just before 5 p.m. near the intersection of U.S. Highway 19 and Crooked Creek Road.
A spokesman for the agency said Trooper Matt Mitchell, 27, was standing outside his car when he was hit from behind by a vehicle.
He said Mitchell was taken to Mission Hospital in Asheville, where he remained in critical condition on Wednesday.
The driver of the vehicle that hit Mitchell was being questioned, the spokesman said. There is no word yet if the driver will be charged
Mitchell works out of the Burnsville office of Troop G and has been with the Highway Patrol for 3 1/2 years.
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