CRANSTON — A police patrol officer who was struck Wednesday night by a car during a traffic stop fired his gun at the driver as the car pulled off, the police said yesterday.

The incident happened around 11:40 p.m. when the officer pulled over a vehicle near Dyer Avenue and Cranston Street, according to Cranston police Maj. Ronald Blackmar. As the officer approached the car, the police said, the driver began to flee, hitting the officer with the vehicle as he drove away. The officer then fired his gun at the vehicle.

After the incident, Providence and state police responded to Terrance Avenue, where the driver and the vehicle were located. Blackmar would not say if a chase ensued from Cranston to Providence or whether the driver had been hit by the shot fired by the police officer.

The officer, whom the police would not name, was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he was treated and released, said Blackmar. He declined to describe the officer’s injuries.

The officer is at home but has not been placed on administrative duty, pending an investigation with the state police and the attorney general’s office, Blackmar said.

“We haven’t taken any action yet. He may or may not be placed on administrative duties, depending on how the investigation goes,” Blackmar said. “At the present time, he is out of work because of his injuries. There is no reason to put him anywhere.”

Meanwhile, the police said the driver, and possibly other suspects who may have been in the vehicle last night, were in police custody.

The driver has not been charged, Blackmar said.

lsparks@projo.com