The North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to a fatal collision this morning involving a Columbus County Deputy just outside the town of Chadbourn, N.C.
According to a preliminary investigation, Deputy Ryan Bailey Gibson, 24, was traveling west on Princess Anne Road near NC242 in a 2014 Dodge Charger when his vehicle traveled left of center into the path of a 1990 GMC pick-up. The GMC pick-up driver, identified as Robert Brownlee, 30 of Fair Bluff, N.C., attempted to veer onto the right shoulder of the roadway but was sideswiped by the deputy’s vehicle. Brownlee’s vehicle then struck a ditch where it came to a final rest. As a result, Brownlee died. Deputy Gibson was transported to Columbus Regional Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Investigators have determined that neither speed nor alcohol was factors in this collision and troopers will be consulting with the local Columbus County District Attorney’s Office as to possible charges in this case.
For more information relating to the sheriff’s deputy, please contact the Columbus County Sheriff’s Department at (910)642-6551.
For more information relating to the collision investigation, please contact Lt. Jeff Gordon, Public Information Officer, (919)306-7058 or Jeff.Gordon@ncdps.gov.
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