Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include the identity of the deputy who was killed and the name of the man charged in the case.
A Cumberland County sheriff’s deputy died after being struck by a vehicle on Gillespie Street early Friday, according to a release from the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Oscar Yovani Bolanos-Anavisca Jr., who was 23, died from injuries he received while he and other deputies were investigating a robbery report at the Circle K convenience store at 2990 Gillespie St. at 2:46 a.m. Friday, the news release said.
The driver of the vehicle left the scene but was located a short distance away, the news release said.
As deputies returned from running a canine track, Bolanos-Anavisca, who was walking, was hit by a vehicle, the release said.
Deputies on the scene administered lifesaving efforts. Bolanos-Anavisca was taken by ambulance to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.
Nicholas Terlizzi, 24, of Linden, has been charged with death by motor vehicle, hit and run, driving while impaired, reckless driving to endanger, driving while license revoked, no liability insurance, revoked tag, driving a motor vehicle with no registration, and failing to stop for a steady red light, the North Carolina Highway Patrol said.
He is being held without bond at the Cumberland County Detention Center.
Bolanos-Anavisca was “a dedicated, selfless member of the Sheriff’s Office who lost his life protecting the citizens of Cumberland County,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
“We share the sorrow with his immediate family and the loss of one of our own. Please keep Deputy Oscar Bolanos-Anavisca Jr.’s family, friends, and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,” the news release said.
Bolanos-Anavisca joined the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in November 2020, a news release said. Before being assigned to C Platoon, he was a school resource officer at Hope Mills Middle School.
The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation and N.C. State Highway Patrol are investigating the incident, the release said.
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