Motorist who aided wounded trooper recalls fear, confusion

Emergency personnel gather at the scene where an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper was shot, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, at the scene of a rollover accident on Interstate 10 near Tonopah, Ariz. An Arizona state trooper stopped to help at a car wreck along the remote highway Thursday when he was shot and wounded in an ambush by a man who was bashing the officer's head against the pavement until a passing driver shot him to death, authorities said. The trooper suffered a severe wound to his shoulder and upper chest but he is expected to recover at a hospital.
(Mark Henle/The Arizona Republic via AP) — Emergency personnel gather at the scene where an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper was shot, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, at the scene of a rollover accident on Interstate 10 near Tonopah, Ariz. An Arizona state trooper stopped to help at a car wreck along the remote highway Thursday when he was shot and wounded in an ambush by a man who was bashing the officer's head against the pavement until a passing driver shot him to death, authorities said. The trooper suffered a severe wound to his shoulder and upper chest but he is expected to recover at a hospital. (Mark Henle/The Arizona Republic via AP)

By Associated Press January 13, 2017 3 min read

PHOENIX (AP) – An Arizona man who helped a wounded state trooper said Friday he was afraid and confused when he saw three bodies and pulled over on a freeway.

Authorities say another motorist had just shot and killed a man who wounded Trooper Edward Andersson early Thursday on Interstate 10 west of Phoenix.

Brian Schober, a 44-year-old systems engineer, told The Associated Press that he saw the trooper’s vehicle parked in a traffic lane marked with flares when he first came upon the nighttime scene.

He said he didn’t think twice about stopping when the motorist who had shot the attacker flagged him down.

“It looks wrong with a civilian flagging down a car when there’s an officer there – something’s wrong,” Schober said, recalling his reaction. “But what can I do? There’s no time to think.”