By Simone Jasper
The Charlotte Observer
ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C. — A 21-year-old with “aspirations to pursue police work” died in a crash weeks after starting his new job as a detention officer, officials and loved ones said.
Tyler Johnson was driving Feb. 10 when an SUV going in the opposite direction traveled across the center line and struck his vehicle head-on, Trooper Jon Gurganus of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
The “devastating” crash left “colleagues, friends, and family in shock and mourning,” the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post.
Deputies said Johnson began his role Jan. 2 and quickly became a “valued member of the sheriff’s office.” Sheriff Chris Thomas told WCTI the late officer was a “conscientious” worker just starting his career.
“He’s a real polite young man, very respectful,” Thomas told the TV station, adding that the officer had a “good sense of humor.”
Johnson also is remembered in an online obituary as an “outdoor enthusiast” and a player for the Carolina Kings, which describes itself as a minor league football team.
“Tyler was recently sworn in as an Onslow County detention officer and had aspirations to pursue police work,” the Jones Funeral Home of Jacksonville post said. “Tyler is very loved and was a friend to all.”
Johnson’s life was cut short along a road in the Richlands area, roughly 100 miles southeast of Raleigh . He wasn’t wearing a seat belt and died at the scene, troopers said.
The officer wasn’t on duty at the time of the crash, Thomas told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
Troopers don’t believe alcohol played a role in the crash. The driver accused of hitting Johnson’s car had minor injuries and was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle.
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