Driver collapses at traffic stop, revealing a bullet wound. NC trooper saves him

A routine traffic stop turned chaotic when the driver suddenly collapsed, and it was discovered he had been shot, according to the North Carolina Highway Patrol.

Trooper A.T. Hall initiated the stop, and he kept the man alive until an ambulance could reach the scene, officials said.

The incident happened around 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, at a rural intersection in Traphill, about a 90-mile drive north from uptown Charlotte.

“Trooper A. T. Hall witnessed a passenger vehicle on Christian Home Church Road run a stop sign while making a left turn onto Traphill Road, in Wilkes County. Trooper Hall then activated his blue lights and siren and conducted a traffic stop in a church parking lot,” the Highway Patrol said in a news release.

“Once the vehicle came to rest, the driver exited the vehicle requesting assistance stating he had just been shot. The driver then fell to the ground.”

Hall began rendering emergency first aid, while simultaneously calling for help and relaying details of the man’s condition to the Wilkes County 911 Center, officials said.

Once the man was in the hands of medics, Hall and other state troopers helped the Wilkes County Sheriffs Office take the shooting suspect into custody at a nearby home.

The victim remained hospitalized on Thursday, officials said.

Hall has been with the N.C. Highway Patrol since 2019, and he was lauded by department Thursday for maintaining a steady hand in a chaotic situation.

“Stopping someone for a simple traffic violation led to potentially saving a driver’s life and the lives of others, had he passed out in traffic. Other motorists could have been injured,” Senior Trooper K. Jake Macchia told The Charlotte Observer.

This story was originally published January 8, 2026 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Driver collapses at traffic stop, revealing a bullet wound. NC trooper saves him."