Police: Passerby aided trooper

A Nevada Highway Patrol trooper used a Taser and the help of a passing motorist to subdue a man who had been involved in several hit-and-run collisions on Interstate 15 on Friday afternoon, Las Vegas police said.

The man, who police said violently resisted the trooper and attempted to flee into the path of oncoming traffic, later died.

Las Vegas homicide detectives are investigating the death.

The man was involved in "numerous" hit-and-run collisions while traveling south on Interstate 15 near the Interstate 215 interchange, in the south valley, early Friday afternoon, a news release issued by police on Saturday stated.

When a trooper tried to stop the man's vehicle, it entered the center median emergency lane and crashed into an emergency wall.

The driver "was removed from his vehicle" and "began to violently resist the trooper," the release stated. Following a struggle, the trooper subdued the man with his Taser and help from a passer-by.

A short time later, the suspect was believed to be in medical distress and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His cause of death was to be determined by an autopsy.

No one else was injured.

Police continued to withhold the man's name and the identity of the trooper on Saturday. They also did not release details about what type of car the man was driving or whether he had appeared to be intoxicated or under the influence.

When asked how many times the trooper had fired his Taser, officer Bill Cassell, a Las Vegas police spokesman, said that "is part of the ongoing investigation."

Police said Friday that no weapons were involved in the incident.

The trooper has been placed on paid administrative leave.