Louisiana State Trooper Dies After Allegedly Shot by 'Suspected Impaired Driver'
The trooper was taken to a hospital Sunday in critical condition.
— -- Louisiana State Police Senior Trooper Steven J. Vincent has died, one day after he was critically injured in an alleged shooting by a "suspected impaired driver," officials said.
"I am very saddened to report that Senior Trooper Steven Vincent has passed away this morning from the gunshot wounds he suffered yesterday in conjunction with a traffic investigation," Louisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel Mike Edmonson said in a statement today. "As an organization, we are heartbroken over this senseless and tragic death."
Vincent, 44, is survived by his wife and a 9-year-old son, police said.
"He embodied what it means to be a Louisiana State Trooper," Edmonson said at a news conference this morning.
Vincent responded Sunday afternoon in Calcasieu Parish to a pickup truck in a ditch that matched "the description of a previously reported reckless vehicle," the state police said Sunday.
"He was there first," Edmonson said today of Vincent. "He sees the truck in the ditch and he radios in that he's making the traffic stop."
Vincent then told the driver that help was on the way to get the truck out of the ditch, Edmonson said.
Vincent "did everything right," Edmonson said.
The man, armed with a shotgun, then fired at Vincent, hitting him in the head, police said. Vincent was hospitalized in critical condition.
The suspect, identified as 54-year-old Kevin Daigle, tried to flee the scene, but several people on the street detained him until police arrived, police said.
A good Samaritan, who appeared at today's news conference, rushed to the scene and subdued Daigle with handcuffs, Edmonson said today.
Daigle of Lake Charles, Louisiana, was then taken into custody. Police Sunday described the confrontation as "a shooting incident with a suspected impaired driver."
Daigle was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery, police said at a news conference this afternoon.
It's unclear whether Daigle has a lawyer, and Louisiana state police did not immediately return ABC News' request for comment.
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