WHITEVILLE — Deputy Damien Draper Bost of the Columbus County Sheriff's Office died in a vehicle collision on U.S. 74 east of Whiteville, North Carolina, on Thursday, June 25, 2026. The collision occurred just before 11 a.m. when a tractor-trailer struck his patrol car.

A roadway striping crew was applying the white fog line along the road at the time of the collision. The work convoy, traveling westbound in the right lane, was moving at a reduced speed. A westbound tractor-trailer in the right lane did not reduce its speed as it approached the work zone, according to a N.C. State Highway Patrol news release.

The tractor-trailer struck the marked Columbus County Sheriff's Office vehicle from behind. The impact forced the patrol car off the roadway to the right, where it came to rest in a wooded area. The tractor-trailer then struck a road crew bumper truck before crossing the median to the left side of U.S. 74, where it caught fire.

Deputy Bost was taken to a hospital in Whiteville, where he was pronounced dead. A 24-year-old man in the bumper truck sustained injuries and was also transported to a hospital. The driver of the tractor-trailer, David Samuel McPherson, 33, of Clarkton, N.C., was not injured in the crash.

McPherson was arrested and charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle, reckless driving, and failure to reduce speed. Deputy Bost, 30, had served with the Columbus County Sheriff's Office for eight years and was a school resource officer at South Columbus High School. He was also a husband and father of two.