By Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. — A deputy was killed when an 18-wheeler collided with a crew painting stripes on U.S. 74 in southeastern North Carolina, according to the N.C. State Highway Patrol.
Deputy Damien Draper Bost, 30, was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital in Whiteville. Bost had been with the sheriff’s office eight years, and was a school resource officer at South Columbus High School, officials said.
The crash happened just before 11 a.m. Thursday, June 25 , on U.S. 74 east of Whiteville.
“At the time of the collision, a roadway striping crew was ... applying the white fog line along the roadway. The work convoy consisted of several vehicles traveling westbound in the right lane at a significantly reduced speed,” the N.C. State Highway Patrol said in a news release.
“A westbound tractor-trailer traveling in the right lane failed to reduce speed as it approached the work zone and struck the marked Columbus County Sheriff’s Office vehicle from behind. The patrol vehicle was forced off the roadway to the right, where it came to rest in the wooded area.”
The tractor-trailer then struck a road crew bumper truck, crossed the median to the left side of U.S. 74, and caught fire, officials said.
A 24-year-old man in the bumper truck was injured and was taken to a hospital, officials said. Details of his condition have not been released.
The driver of the tractor-trailer has been identified as David Samuel McPherson, 33, of Clarkton, N.C., officials said. He was arrested and has been charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle, reckless driving, and failure to reduce speed, investigators said. McPherson was not injured in the crash.
Deputy Bost was a husband and father of two, according to the Police Benevolent Foundation.
Whiteville is about a 115-mile drive south from downtown Raleigh.
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