The North Carolina State Highway Patrol is mourning the loss of one of its members from a traffic collision in Wayne County. Trooper Nolan J. Sanders, a five-year veteran of the State Highway Patrol, was involved in a single vehicle collision while on duty Friday night.
Trooper Sanders was traveling north on I-795 near Pikeville at approximately 7:17 pm when his patrol vehicle traveled off the roadway near the 19.5-mile marker. The vehicle struck a concrete culvert off the right shoulder of the roadway and came to rest near impact. Trooper Sanders was pronounced deceased at the scene of the collision.
“Our SHP family is devastated by the loss of Trooper Nolan Sanders this evening,” said commander of the State Highway Patrol, Colonel Glenn M. McNeill, Jr. “Trooper Sanders personified what it meant to be a Trooper, his passing will leave a lasting mark on all that had the honor to work together with him. The coming days and weeks will prove to be difficult, but we will stand with the Sanders family throughout this difficult process.”
The SHP Collision Reconstruction Unit is handling the ongoing investigation.
