UPDATE: Officials say Trooper T.J. Williamson has submitted his resignation effective immediately.

UPDATE: Officials say the trooper caught on video speeding the wrong way down a North Carolina highway in Catawba County has been placed on administrative duty pending an internal investigation by the State Highway Patrol.

Trooper T.J. Williamson was reportedly responding to a call about several BMWs racing and driving erratically on Highway 321.

Williamson was employed with the Patrol in August of 2016 and is assigned to the Troop F, District 5 Highway Patrol office in Hickory.

Listen to the 911 calls that were made as the BMW drivers were driving down Highway 321:

ORIGINAL STORY:

CATAWBA CO., N.C. – It is a jaw dropping video: a trooper seen traveling at high speeds, the wrong way on a highway in Catawba County. The person who posted the video wrote: “Who puts more lives at risk on (Highway) 321? The BMWs or this trooper?”

Those BMWs he’s referencing? The State Highway Patrol says it was notified by multiple motorists about a group of sports cars causing problems Sunday afternoon: impeding traffic, speeding, and running other drivers off the road.

Seven men are now charged. Five vehicles were seized, that troopers say were also involved in a “pre-arranged speed competition.” We got a look at a ticket that one of the driver’s received. It cites the man for both street racing, and driving too slowly. He’s been ordered to show up for court in September.

Adam Seifer of SeiferFlatow Law is the man’s attorney. He’s also currently representing four of the other drivers, too. He says they are part of a BMW enthusiast club. Seifer says, “There’s no evidence they were exceeding the speed.” He continues, “It was my understanding also that they were going in a single file line. So, ‘competition’ implies that somebody is trying to beat somebody else.”

And back to that video: WCCB asked the State Highway Patrol to tell us what policy or procedure governs that type of trooper driving. We haven’t yet gotten a reply.

The video is now removed from Facebook, but not before it was viewed 267,000 and shared more than 5,300 times. We messaged the man who posted it, but he hasn’t replied. We’ll update you when we hear back from the State Highway Patrol.