BETHEL, Vt. (AP) – A Vermont State Police trooper shot and wounded a driver on Interstate 89 Tuesday following a chase that reached speeds of over 100 mph.

The driver, 40-year-old James Millett, was shot once in the leg by Cpl. Paul Gauthier after he allegedly tried to hit Gauthier with his vehicle, police said.

Lt. Raymond Keefe, commander of the Bethel barracks, said at a Tuesday news conference that Gauthier had reported and gotten approval for the pursuit, and had provided the Bethel dispatcher with “constant updates” during the chase.

“Everything he did was by the book,” said Keefe. “The need to continue the pursuit was there, and it was appropriate.”

Millett’s most recent address was at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, police said at the news conference. They said Millett has prior convictions in Vermont, including one for domestic assault.

Maj. Robert White, who leads the state police criminal division, said Millett had ties to the Franklin County area.

The incident began at around 7 a.m. Tuesday when a motorist called 911 to report that Millett was hitting a passenger, who police identified only as a 47-year-old woman from Moodus, Conn. The motorist told police that the car, a Dodge Neon with Connecticut license plates, was traveling north on the interstate.

Police said the car belonged to the woman.

Gauthier tried to stop Millett’s vehicle in Bethel, but the car sped on. At exit 4 in Randolph, Millett allegedly turned sharply and drove onto the on-ramp, nearly colliding with two Randolph police cruisers parked at the exit. He then returned to the interstate heading south.

Police chased Millett south to exit 3 where Millett tried to make a U-turn to head north again. Gauthier forced the vehicle into the median.

Millett then backed his vehicle toward Gauthier, who fired three times into the car, hitting Millett once in the leg.

Police said Gauthier, 38, was standing close enough to the car to fire the shots through the driver’s side window.

The chase was over by 7:25 a.m., police said.

Millett was first taken to Gifford Medical Center in Randolph and later to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., to undergo surgery for a fractured femur.

Millett is facing a variety of charges, including aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, and aggravated domestic assault. Because of his earlier convictions he will also be charged as a habitual offender, police said.

He was also on probation at the time of the accident, said state police Capt. William Pettengill.

Pettengill described Millett and the woman as “close friends.” White said the two had recently attended a wedding in Connecticut.

Pettengill said the woman’s injuries were not life-threatening but appeared “consistent with assault.”

The incident came a week after the first anniversary of the death of state police Sgt. Michael Johnson, who was killed during a chase on Interstate 91. Eric Daley pleaded guilty earlier this month to charges stemming from Johnson’s death.

State police have revised their chase policy in the year following Johnson’s death.

Pursuing officers, for example, are now required to tell supervisors whether the suspect’s identity is known and whether the suspect can be apprehended at another time or place.

The shooting was the 25th police shooting since 1977 and the second in the past year. Last summer Senior Trooper Robert Patten shot and killed Merrill Patten inside a Vergennes apartment. The men were not related.

State police are now investigating Tuesday’s chase. Copies of the investigation will be given to the attorney general’s office and Windsor County State’s Attorney Robert Sand. Both men will then conduct an independent review to determine whether the use of force by Gauthier was justified, White said.

In line with police policy Gauthier has been put on administrative leave for three days. An arraignment date for Millett has not yet been set.