Pa. Officer Killed, Another Wounded

Dec. 19, 2011
East Washington Police Officer John David Dryer was shot in the head and killed and Officer Robert Caldwell was shot in the hand after they pulled over a suspect who opened fire on them.

EAST WASHINGTON, Pa. -- A Washington County prosecutor said a police officer is dead after being wounded in a Sunday night shooting during a traffic stop along with another officer.

Police said officers John David Dryer and Robert Caldwell pulled over Eli Franklin Myers, 58, on Interstate 70 and were waiting for a tow truck when the suspect opened fire.

Dryer was shot in the head and killed, police said. Caldwell was shot in the hand. His condition has not been released.

Police said Caldwell called for backup and said both he and Dryer were hit and the officers needed to proceed with caution. The officer said he returned fire but didn't think he hit the suspect.

"I saw a body lying near the side of the road, and the gentleman was given CPR or doing chest compressions to him," said a motorist. "A few seconds later, a police officer came up to me and asked me to back up as close to (a) tractor-trailer as possible, that they were calling in a MedEvac helicopter, and the helicopter left a few minutes later."

Authorities said Myers was last seen went east on I-70 in a gray or green minivan with the passenger-side window broken out.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Myers is asked to contact police.

Copyright 2011 by WPXI.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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