Durham, NC- (Tuesday, October 13, 2020): At approximately 11:12 on the evening of Saturday, October 10, a Durham County Sheriff's Deputy was providing assistance to an officer from the Durham Police Department conducting an accident investigation on Interstate 40 near NC 55. While in his marked patrol vehicle with its blue lights activated, a driver traveling east on I-40 failed to move over as is required by North Carolina law and struck the rear of the DCSO patrol vehicle. The deputy was immediately transported to a local hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injures. As a result of his injuries, he is on medical leave.

Joseph Farrior of Wallace, NC received a citation for failure to reduce speed and failure to move over when passing an emergency vehicle.

The Sheriff's Office would like to remind the public that the state's "Move Over" Law requires motorists to slow down and approach cautiously when an emergency vehicle is stopped on the shoulder of the roadway with its lights flashing. Drivers are required to move over to another lane away from the emergency vehicle on a multi-lane highway or slow down on a two-lane highway while maintaining a safe speed. (G.S. 20-157 (f)). Failure to do so is a mandatory $250 fine.