State troopers involved in shooting that shuts down I-85 in NC; suspect critically wounded

ARCHDALE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Two state troopers -- including one on his second day on the job -- were involved in a harrowing ordeal that closed down Interstate 85 in the Triad.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP) said the incident began just after 12:30 p.m. Thursday when two troopers pulled over a speeding car on I-85 southbound near mile marker 118 in Guilford County.

While they were conducting the traffic stop, another car pulled over. The NCSHP said the woman behind the wheel was pleading for help while a man in the passenger seat was beating her.

As Trooper Logan Self and Trooper Charles Chiarello, who was in training with Self, approached the car, the man pulled out a handgun and fired at the troopers. The troopers returned fire and were believed to have struck the man, the NCSHP said.

The woman got out of the car, and the man got into the driver's seat and took off.

The troopers gave chase for about eight miles before the vehicle came to a stop in the median of I-85, just south of exit 111 (S. Main Street) in Randolph County.

The driver was treated for a gunshot wound and taken to a hospital. He was identified as Jaylen Deshawn Sawyer, 25, of High Point, and was listed in critical condition.

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The troopers were not injured. The woman was also not hurt.

Self and Chiarello have been placed on administrative duty pending an internal investigation, which is standard protocol in any trooper-involved shooting.

Charges are pending for Sawyer.

I-85 southbound was closed from mile marker 106 to mile marker 113.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is conducting a separate ongoing investigation of the incident.