(ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky., August 5th, 2003, 6 p.m.) -- A Kentucky State Trooper was hospitalized Tuesday after being struck by his own cruiser. Police are questioning the woman who they say stole the cruiser and struck the officer. WAVE 3's Connie Leonard <mailto:cleonard@wave3tv.com> reports from Hardin County.

According to initial reports, the State Trooper had placed a handcuffed woman in the back of his unmarked car. Somehow the woman managed to maneuver her body so that her handcuffs were in front of her. At that point, she climbed into the front seat, locked the doors and took off, dragging the trooper along with her through the parking lot of the Davis Bros. Travel Plaza in Lebanon Junction.

Police say 20-year-old Shavone Taylor had been reported missing from Oak Park, Michigan. Employees at the truck stop said Taylor had been acting irrationally and called police.

The Lebanon Junction Police Chief and Trooper Terry Whittaker, who was working traffic detail nearby, soon arrived on the scene and tried to calm Taylor.

KSP spokesman Steve Pavey described what happened next. "They found her, confronted her, started talking to her, said: 'Your family is concerned about you, they're going to send some money for a bus ticket -- we're going to take you to the bus station."

At that point, Pavey says Taylor replied: "No, I don't want to go to a bus station. I want to go to Louisville."

Pavey said the officers told her that she was listed as a missing person and needed to be taken back to Michigan. That's when "she became irate, and before anything happened, struck and pushed at the police chief."

Officer Whittaker handcuffed the woman and put her in the back of an unmarked cruiser. Customers and employees witnessed what happened next.

"We saw a lady that was actually handcuffed in the back of the car, and the police officer had walked away from the car and I guess the lady got loose and got up in front of the car, and actually tried to drive the police car away."

Another witness said she saw the scene unfolding. "I said, 'Oh my god, she's dragging a police officer. And I ran out the door, I guess before everybody else could. This one guy said he thought I was going to jump over the car."

The witnesses said that Trooper Whittaker let go of the car and was thrown clear. Taylor allegedly drove a few miles before running off the road and flipping the car.

Police say Taylor's small frame enabled her get her handcuffs in front of her by bringing them under her feet. She was then able to climb into the front seat because Whittaker's unmarked traffic unit did not have the dividing glass normally found in police squad cars.

Trooper Whittaker has been with the E-town post for about 10 years. He was taken to Hardin Memorial Hospital where he was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries to his legs and feet.

Shavone Taylor was arrested and will likely be charged with assault of a police officer, stealing a police cruiser and wanton endangerment. She is being held in the Bullitt County Detention Center.

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