Trooper kills man with gunshot during Georgia traffic stop

ELBERTON, Ga. (AP) — Authorities say a Georgia State Patrol trooper shot and killed a man during a traffic stop in northeast Georgia.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said preliminary information indicates the motorist – 24-year-old Edwin Amaya Maldonado of Elberton, Georgia – reached for the trooper's gun belt after being pulled over Thursday night in Elbert County.

The GBI said in a statement that the trooper shot Maldonado once, striking him in his upper body.

The agency said the trooper stopped Maldonado for a traffic offense, then suspected he was driving under the influence and without a license. The GBI said the trooper tried to arrest Maldonado, who resisted and reached for the gun belt.

The county is about 100 miles northeast of Atlanta, on the Georgia-South Carolina line.