About 6:45 a.m., the State Highway Patrol was notified of multiple hit-and-run crashes between McDowell and Burke counties in the western part of the state.
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In addition to the collisions, a subsequent related armed kidnapping was reported on I-40 eastbound near mile marker 114.
Troopers were told that the suspect was in the bed of the kidnapped person's truck, heading east on I-40
Sgt. Aaron Johnson spotted the truck, which had pulled to the shoulder of the interstate. As he approached, the suspect, a woman in the bed of the truck, fired shots at the trooper and Johnson fired back, striking the woman.
The suspect was taken to a hospital where she was described as stable. Johnson was not injured.
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On Wednesday, authorities identified the suspect as Keisha Michelle Brown, 45, of Villa Rica, Georgia.
Pending release from a medical facility, Brown will be served with warrants for first-degree kidnapping and first-degree attempted murder.
Johnson has been placed on administrative duty, which is agency standard in any member-involved shooting.
The SBI will oversee the investigation of the officer-involved shooting,