'I hope he changes his life around': Trooper reacts to suspect firing shots at him on I-40
Trooper Evan Dix is back on patrol just days after a suspect fired multiple shots in his direction on Interstate 40.
Dix said that he clocked the driver, Tyler Lloyd Grantz, traveling 98 mph but that Grantz didn't stop when Dix followed him with his lights and sirens on.
Grantz, 20, of Kernersville, allegedly fired the first shot from his car on I-40. Dix initially thought the car tires were sparking due to the high rate of speed, he said.
The State Highway Patrol said the bullet hit the front of Dix’s car.
Grantz’s vehicle ultimately crashed down an embankment near New Hope Church Road around 2 a.m. Monday. Dix said Grantz got out of the SUV and fired several more shots at him before running into nearby woods.
"It was definitely an, 'oh, crap' moment," said Dix, who did not return fire. "I threw my car in reverse and separated myself from the car."
Dix said his training from an exercise in patrol school helped guide him through the chaos.
After the shooting, Dix stayed at the scene helping with the search for several hours.
“I wanted to catch him,” he said. “My wife was upset, but she told me not to come home until he was caught.”
A husband and a father to a 4-year-old boy, Dix signed on with the Highway Patrol in January 2017. He graduated from patrol school that August.
"I've always wanted to do something with law enforcement or military," said Dix, who previously worked as a supervisor at a plastic plant. "I just want to go out there and do the right thing."
Grantz was captured after an eight-hour manhunt involving more than 100 law enforcement officers in a residential area near Blackwood Mountain Road.
"Someone like that doesn't need to be out here," said Dix, in reaction to the suspect reportedly laughing and smiling as he was taken into custody.
"Lord be with him. I hope he finds the right person to help change his ways. It's sad. I hope he changes his life around."
Grantz faces several charges, including attempted first-degree murder.
