A state trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety is in critical condition after being hit by a car while working a crash on the Dallas North Tollway on Monday morning, officials say.
According to the TxDPS, the trooper responded to a single-vehicle crash involving a Toyota Camry at about 12:41 a.m. Monday on the northbound lanes of the DNT near Keller Springs Road.
Sgt. Josue “Tony” La Cerda with DPS said the trooper had the emergency lights on his vehicle activated while stopped on the highway.
Officials said Trooper Austin Parrott was outside his patrol car and standing on the highway when a Mini Cooper hit him and another bystander. Trooper Parrott sustained severe head trauma and was transported to the ICU at Plano Presbyterian Hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
The bystander was also transported to the hospital but later released with minor injuries, according to DPS.
Officials said weather was a factor in the initial single-vehicle crash but that they do not think weather or alcohol was a factor in the crash involving the trooper. The investigation into the crash involving the trooper is ongoing.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
DPS has identified the driver of the Mini Cooper as 20-year-old Talha Noaman. He was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance and booked into the Collin County Jail.
The northbound lanes of the DNT between Keller Springs and Trinity Mills were shut down until about 8 a.m. while officials investigated the crash.
Check back and refresh this page for the latest update. As developments unfold, elements of this story may change.
