Police: Officer seriously hurt, suspect takes own life

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) - An eastern Indiana police officer was assaulted and seriously injured by a man driving a stolen semi-tractor trailer who later took his own life following a police pursuit, police said.

Officer Austin Adams of the Richmond Police Department was being treated for serious injuries at a Dayton, Ohio, hospital, following Tuesday's attack, Indiana State Police said.

Adams was off-duty and in a personal vehicle about 11:45 a.m. Tuesday when he spotted a semi-tractor trailer that had been reported stolen earlier Tuesday, and began following it.

After the semi pulled over for an unknown reason, Adams made contact with the driver, later identified as Troy M. Lewis, 40, of rural Randolph County.

Police said Lewis assaulted Adams and then drove away, leading Wayne County Sheriff's deputies and Fountain City officers across Wayne County and into Randolph County, where he stopped the semi.

Police said Lewis refused to exit the semi before the officers heard him shoot himself. He died at a hospital from injuries he suffered from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

No officers fired their weapons during the incident, which is being investigated by state police.