NEWTON, N.C. -- The North Carolina Highway Patrol is reviewing a viral cell phone video that appears to show a trooper driving toward oncoming traffic along Highway 321 on Sunday afternoon.

The man who shot the video claimed in a Facebook post the trooper was speeding the wrong way to stop a group of BMWs racing each other.

"He'd be much better off over here, even if he had to go down a mile to turn around and come back," a man in the car can be heard saying. "He's going to (expletive) kill himself or somebody else."

Highway Patrol confirmed it had seized five BMWs Sunday after troopers said they were racing each other.

Photo by Trey Maggio/NBC Charlotte.

Sergeant Michael Baker said the agency is reviewing the circumstances surrounding what was shot in that video.

In less than eight hours, the video has gotten almost half a million views.

The incident happened less than a week after Highway Patrol released new guidelines on vehicle pursuits.

The agency bans troopers from traveling the wrong way on an interstate during a pursuit, but according to its guidelines: "...in extreme circumstances, a member may drive the wrong way on an interstate or divided highway, for a short distance, for the limited purpose of making a forced vehicle stop when deemed reasonably necessary to abate an imminently dangerous situation."

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Poster Comment:

The man who shot the video claimed in a Facebook post the trooper was speeding the wrong way to stop a group of BMWs racing each other.

I'd have to say that the car racers were driving more safely than this cop - at least they were going in the right direction.