Press Releases
The State Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate a serious collision involving one of its members from today in Charlotte. On Saturday, July 4, at approximately 8:36 am, Trooper Adolfo A. Lopez-Alcedo was struck while assisting with a follow up collision investigation that occurred the previous day. As Trooper Lopez-Alcedo was beginning a shutdown of the I-485 Outer Loop near the 21-mile marker, he was struck while outside of his patrol vehicle.
The State of North Carolina and FEMA have approved $2.9 million to reimburse the North Carolina Department of Transportation for debris removal costs following Hurricane Florence.
Funds for this project cover the removal of hurricane-related debris in Chatham, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Richmond and Scotland counties. Debris removal included more than 7,800 tons of vegetation and 1,800 tons of soil and sand from NCDOT roads.
The approval brings the total to more than $40 million to reimburse the NCDOT for Hurricane Florence-related expenses.
In anticipation of the July Fourth holiday weekend, the State Highway Patrol is encouraging motorists to drive responsibly when traveling to their intended destinations.
The State of North Carolina and FEMA have approved $2.9 million to reimburse the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services for mosquito abatement costs following Hurricane Florence.
Funds for this project cover abatement costs in the state’s hurricane-affected areas. The department acted after anticipating a high number of mosquitoes due to historic flooding and warm temperatures.
Two offenders who escaped Thursday night from the Catawba Correctional Center in Newton were captured around 12:30 p.m. today without incident at the Baymont by Wyndham hotel in nearby Hickory.
Minimum custody offenders Nhia Vue (#1093002) and Juan McDonald (#1132541) will face escape charges.
Vue, 28, was serving a seven-year, nine-month sentence for drug trafficking and had been scheduled for release on April 24, 2025. McDonald, 35, was serving a three-year, five-month sentence for speeding to elude arrest and had been scheduled for release on Nov. 6, 2020.
State correctional and local law enforcement officers from Newton and the Catawba Sheriff’s Office are seeking Catawba Correctional Center, minimum custody offender Nhia Vue (#1093002), who was reported missing from the facility June 25. Vue was last seen in the yard at approximately 9 p.m.
State correctional and local law enforcement officers from Newton and the Catawba Sheriff’s Office are seeking Catawba Correctional Center, minimum custody offender Juan McDonald (#1132541), who was reported missing from the facility June 25. McDonald was last seen in the yard at approximately 9 p.m.
The State Highway Patrol is requesting assistance from the public in locating a hit-and-run vehicle responsible for the death of a pedestrian in Cumberland County. On Thursday, May 21, troopers were called to NC 87 near Sand Hill Rd where they located Timothy Wayne Slade, 51, of Hope Mills. Investigators determined Mr. Slade was walking northbound on NC 87 in the roadway when he was struck from behind by a vehicle traveling in the same direction.
On Wed., June 24 at approximately 8:57 a.m., the State Highway Patrol responded to I-40 in Wake County due to several vehicles traveling at a slow rate of speed near the 298 mile marker. The vehicles in question were traveling at approximately ten miles per hour while blocking all westbound travel lanes to include the emergency lane.
Troopers responded to the area, stopping the vehicles involved near the 291 mile marker. The drivers of the vehicles in question were taken into custody without incident and transported to the Wake County Jail.
As floodwaters rose this week along the Tar River to levels not seen since Hurricanes Matthew and Florence, water rescue teams from the Rocky Mount Fire Department put some new state-provided equipment into action, rescuing people stranded in their homes and vehicles.
“We are grateful for our first responders who rescued people during these floods and brought them to safety,” said Governor Cooper. “Having the right equipment to do the job saves lives.”