A Colorado State Patrol trooper was taken to a hospital with suspected minor injuries Saturday afternoon after a 32-year-old man from Weston allegedly knocked the trooper to the ground and sped away from a traffic stop on Interstate 25 near Pueblo, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

The State Patrol said it was alerted at about 1:00 p.m. through *CSP, the agency’s community reporting line, that a grey Ford Transit Connect van was traveling north on Interstate 25 near Walsenburg, at milepost 51, with a possibly intoxicated driver who was speeding and “actively drinking a beer.”

Troopers located the van just south of Pueblo, near milepost 91. A trooper activated his emergency lights, and the van signaled to exit the highway and stopped on the off-ramp at exit 91.

Trooper Dunbar contacted the driver, who was uncooperative, and observed a shotgun in the van, the State Patrol said. The driver then accelerated, knocking Trooper Dunbar to the ground, and fled north on Interstate 25.

Troopers caught up to the van again on northbound Interstate 25 near milepost 98. Sergeant Glanton successfully performed a Tactical Vehicle Intervention and a ram maneuver on the suspect’s vehicle, disabling it.

The driver, a 32-year-old man from Weston, was taken into custody and booked into the Pueblo County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, felony eluding, and assault on a peace officer, among other charges.

Trooper Dunbar was taken to an area hospital as a precaution for suspected minor injuries and later released.

The Colorado State Patrol is the lead investigating agency.