CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. --
A rookie sheriff’s deputy in Caldwell County had to do some quick thinking behind the wheel on only his second night on the job.
Police said his quick thinking saved his life after a man rammed his patrol car.
For several hours on Monday, state law enforcement officers tried to piece together what led to this crash between a pickup truck and a patrol car.
“He was trying to hurt the officer as much as he could,” said Caldwell County Sheriff Alan Jones.
Jones said the deputy was investigating a report of a stolen vehicle in the Globe community when the driver took off.
Jones said the driver then turned around and drove right into the deputy's car. The deputy was injured in the crash, but he still managed to get out and fire shots at the pickup truck, Jones said.
The deputy shot the driver, Malcolm Andrews, but police said Andrews somehow managed to get to a bridge where he jumped the four or five feet to the creek below.
Several hours later, police said they found him about 200 yards downstream hiding under some brush.
The deputy is out of the hospital after being treated for injuries from the crash.
Andrews is charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a government official and jailed with bail set at $500,000
Andrews was also treated for a gunshot wound.
"He was going to do everything in his means to escape,” Jones said.
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