Passing Car Fatally Strikes N.C. Deputy Investigating Robbery

A North Carolina sheriff’s deputy was struck and killed by a passing motorist while investigating a robbery, according the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.

The deputy was identified as 24-year-old Oscar Yovani Bolanos-Anavisca Jr., and he had been with the department two years, officials said.

Investigators report the driver did not stop at the scene but has been located, officials said in a news release.

It happened Friday, Dec. 16, at 2:46 a.m., the sheriff’s department said.

“Deputies were investigating a business robbery at 2990 Gillespie Street. As deputies returned from running a canine track, our deputy, who was walking, was hit by a vehicle,” officials said.

“Deputies on the scene immediately administered lifesaving efforts. Our deputy was transported by ambulance to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries.”

The vehicle that struck the deputy “was located a short distance away,” officials said.

The driver was found about a mile and a half away at a Waffle House, and was found to be intoxicated, station WRAL reports. The identity of the driver has not been released.

“Deputy Bolanos-Anavisca ... was a dedicated, selfless member of the Sheriff’s Office who lost his life protecting the citizens of Cumberland County,” Sheriff Ennis Wright said in a news release.

“He started his career with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in November 2020. Before being assigned to the ‘C’ platoon as unit C-12, Deputy Bolanos- Anavisca, Jr. served as a school resource officer at Hope Mills Middle School.”

An investigation is underway involving the NC State Bureau of Investigation and State Highway Patrol.

Cumberland County is about 60 miles south of Raleigh. The business robbery occurred at a convenience store on the southern edge of Fayetteville.

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