Dan Stamm

Teen in Court for Behind-the-Wheel Gunfight on Vine Street Expressway That Left Trooper Shot

A 17-year-old charged with shooting a state trooper during a chaotic car chase on a downtown Philadelphia highway has waived his preliminary hearing.

Giovanny Cotto is charged as an adult with attempted murder, risking a catastrophe and other felonies in the November shootout on the Vine Street Expressway (Interstate 676).

Trooper Patrick Casey was shot in the shoulder but managed to return fire.

The Philadelphia Inquirer says Cotto spoke briefly in court Thursday, answering a prosecutor's questions about his decision to waive the hearing.

He says he's in 11th grade and is taking medication for seizures.

Police say Cotto started a behind-the-wheel gunfight that ended when his car struck a school bus and both vehicles burst into flames.

Casey was in court Thursday for Cotto's hearing.

Cotto's arraignment is set for March 3.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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