CABELL COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A deputy fired his gun at a truck during a wild police chase that ended with the truck crashing over a hillside.

It turned out two young children were inside.

The driver faces a long list of charges.

A Cabell County Sheriff's deputy says a little after 1 a.m. Monday he tried to pull the truck over on Glenwood Avenue in Milton for speeding, but the driver kept on going.

The complaint says the driver, 24-year-old Rodney Porter of Glenwood, ran several stop signs before missing a sharp curve and flying off the road into a field on Barker Ridge.

Ronnie Hatfield woke up to the sound of a police siren and watched part of the chaotic scene play out through his bedroom window.

"I thought somebody was going to get hurt," Hatfield said.

According to the complaint, the deputy got out of his cruiser and started walking toward the truck, believing it was disabled, but then the truck turned around.

"He was flying high like he was going to run over the cop," Hatfield said. "He had to get out of the way of the guy or he would've run over him."

Fearing he was about to be run over, the complaint says the deputy fired three shots at the truck. One bullet hit the lower part of the driver side door.

"The deputy was in front of his car, and he had to run to the back side of the car before he took any shots," Hatfield said.

The complaint says Porter got back on the road and crashed a mile away, going over a hillside just past the intersection of Coopers Ridge Road.

Tim Townsend lives by where that crash occurred.

"He hit that tree there, and over the hill they went," Townsend said. "When I looked out the side door, the cop, he had his gun drawn, and with a deep voice told him 'Hands up!' "

According to the complaint, when the deputy caught up to the crash site, he saw Porter helping a woman and two children, 6 and 3 years old, out of the truck. They'd suffered minor injuries.

The deputy said he didn't know the kids were inside when he fired the shots.

After being arrested, Porter said he didn't have insurance on the vehicle.

Porter is charged with two counts of gross child neglect creating risk of injury, felony fleeing in a vehicle, assault on an officer, reckless driving, no insurance, driving on a suspended license for unpaid citations, no child restraints, and improper registration.

His bond was set at $100,000 cash only.

Sheriff Tom McComas says the internal affairs officer is investigating to make sure the deputy followed department policy when firing his weapon.