By Jeff Hampton
The Virginian-Pilot
NORTH CAROLINA — An Elizabeth City police officer was killed early Sunday south of Windsor when the car he was driving ran off the road and struck a power pole and a tree.
Lonnie Lee Moore Jr., 47, of Elizabeth City, died when the 1997 BMW sedan he was driving ran off the left shoulder of U.S. 13 about 8.5 miles south of Windsor around 2:15 a.m. Sunday, said 1st Sgt. J.T. Lane of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
Moore overcorrected and ran off the right side of the highway, struck a power pole, overturned and struck a tree, Lane said. Moore was ejected from the vehicle, he said.
The investigation indicates that Moore was traveling at an excessive rate of speed, Lane said .
An autopsy report is pending to determine whether alcohol was involved.
Moore was returning from a high school reunion in Winston-Salem when he swerved to avoid a deer, said Elizabeth City Police Chief Charles Crudup in a statement. He had been with the Elizabeth City Police Department for three years and had been in law enforcement for 18 years, Crudup said.
A passenger in the vehicle is listed in stable condition, Crudup said.
“He was well respected by everyone who knew him and will be sorely missed,” he said.
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