Charlotte, NC While assisting with the investigation of a fatal crash, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol says a trooper was struck. According to reports from WCNC, officials believe a passenger vehicle struck the troopers vehicle from behind, in turn striking him. As Trooper Lopez-Alcedo was beginning a shutdown of the I-485 Outer Loop near the 21-mile marker, he was struck while outside of his patrol vehicle. Trooper Lopez-Alcedo, a two-year veteran of State Highway Patrol, is assigned to Troop H, District 5 in Mecklenburg County. Our Patrol family is hurting with the devastating news of Trooper Lopezs injury, his family needs our prayers for what is undoubtedly an uphill fight, Colonel Glenn M. McNeill, Jr., commander of the State Highway Patrol, said in a statement.