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Published: July 2, 2009
Maj. J.V. Thomas of the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office received minor injuries after wrecking his car near the N.C. 135 turnoff in Eden early Thursday morning.
Sgt. S.L. Wagner of the N.C. Highway Patrol said that Thomas was traveling on Washington Street in between the N.C. 135 turnoff and Hampton Street when he lost control of his car, ran over the curb, ran off the road to the right, went down an embankment, hit a telephone pole and landed with his car straddling across a ditch. The vehicle was a total loss.
Thomas received minor injuries from the wreck, including minor burns on his neck and arms from the air bags. He was transported to Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, where he was treated and released this morning. No charges have been filed against Thomas.
Speed was a factor in the crash. At the time Thomas lost control of his vehicle, he was traveling at an estimated 50 miles per hour, while the posted speed limit is 35, said Wagner. But he said the crash was most likely caused by Thomas’ “inattention” to the road. Dean Venable, public information officer for the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, said Thomas had been on duty and was returning home after responding to a standoff in Madison in which a man causing a disturbance began firing shots in the direction of deputies.
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Reader Reactions
I stand by all law enforcement, and this man did an awesome job the night of the stand off and he was on his way home at 2:00 A.M. He did make a mistake but I assure TROOPERS have cut Joe Citizen’s breaks as well. I Thank all Law Enforcement, Emergency Personnel, and the Dispatchers for all they do!! They are brothers, all law men and women are part of that brother hood and if any of you were a cop and one of your own messed up you would stand by him!!
I think the majority of people posting here have just asked for equal justice, Timmy. Nobody is asking for his head on a platter. Nobody is calling for him to be fired that I know of.
But if Joe Citizen had been going 15 miles over the speed limit and been “inattentive” and had a wreck, believe me, the ink would still be wet on the ticket from the Highway Control. The point is, just because someone wears a uniform and carries a badge doesn’t mean they are above the law. If they are speeding, they should get a ticket. If they are found at fault and cause an accident which totals a car, they deserve a ticket too.
But I really shouldn’t be surprised that he hasn’t gotten a ticket, after all, the super troopers know the deputies, the deputies know the city police, and it goes on and on. They’re all looking out for one another. Its called the good ol’ boy system. And it works well in Rockingham County.
I stand corrected, he was shot in the hand and not his leg as his back up man ran like a little lost puppy (jk). He broke his leg fighting in anohter incident later. Some of you posting have no idea what its like looking down the wrong side of the gun. Jimmy does. Jimmy made a mistake but I can’t see putting him down like some of you have done. Have you ever made a mistake in your life?
Timmy said: “This man had not just risk his life that night but he risk it every day and night so you can set at home on your butt hopefully with no threats or problems. But if you do have a problem you make a call to Jimmy who put his life on the line again just for you. Jimmy has been assaltued many times to protect you even to the point of getting shot in the leg which was very life threating his life.“
Poor Timmy. “Jimmy” hasn’t put his life on the line for me. Ever. He works for the county. I live in the city. But even though I live in the city, I help to pay Jimmy’s salary with my tax dollars…cause city residents pay city AND county taxes. I will say that he does risk his life in a dangerous line of work (that he chose to do). But if you’re trying to put him in the same category as men and women serving in the military, who are in real danger, you sir, are nuts. The average deputy gets more paper cuts from serving papers that they do in scrapes and confrontations.
And Timmy, poor Timmy. You need to get your facts straight. Maybe YOU need to call Jimmy and ask him about his wound. He wasn’t shot in the leg. No Timmy, he was shot in the hand. Go ahead, call Jimmy and ask him. Or maybe Sheriff Sam will answer that question when he can find a camera to jump in front of.
I don’t believe that this should be about how good or bad a law enforcement officer is;but I do believe that they should set examples since they write tickets for the very same thing that this officer did. He wasn’t going to the standoff,he was coming away from it so I really don’t see the need to be speeding,and yes we may all speed but trust me we would get a ticket no matter what excuse we gave at the time. Even in Va. 15 to 20 miles over a posted speed limit warrants a reckless driving offense. The department is setting themselves up for a lot of adversity the next time a speeder gets a ticket for doing the same speed as this officer was. I have the utmost respect for our law enforcement officers,but unfortunately, sometimes they do use their position as an excuse to not follow their own rules,and in this case he really could have hurt some innocent person/s and to me that would not have been justified and I don’t believe that if this officer,has a conscience, that he would think so either.
If he can’t handle the stresses of his job, he is in the wrong line of work. And if he can’t operate a car responsibly, he does not deserve his license. There is no excuse for cops to speed, using their patrol car as an excuse, when they ARE NOT GOING TO A CRIME SCENE, OR IN PURSUIT. Perhaps he and the dog shooter can look for work together. Neither of them can handle their job. They are a threat to the public.
I stand by my thoughts.
This Man served the public and had by ,the articles on words, just left a situation that involved officers being shot at .
I don’t second guess a man who puts his life on the line for our community.
jAfy can type all he wants safely from his home knowing the public safety net is there for him.
What are people thinking. This man had not just risk his life that night but he risk it every day and night so you can set at home on your butt hopefully with no threats or problems. But if you do have a problem you make a call to Jimmy who put his life on the line again just for you. Jimmy has been assaltued many times to protect you even to the point of getting shot in the leg which was very life threating his life. A car is material, another can be purchased, yes that cause your tax dollars; a life can not be replaced. May hat is off to all law enforcement officers who do a great job.
Now it seems like Megan has changed her mind saying he needs to be punished, but not get a ticket or get fired. Anybody else would get a ticket and any other deputy would probably be fired. She also says we don’t need to mention the IFs-actually we do because IF Megan or one of her family members had been injured as a result of this her tune would be different. A seasoned law enforcement officer is a professional who is trained to deal with situations such as this (and no one actually said HE was shot at-but if he was he has had training to deal with that). Maybe his cell phone should be examined to see if he was on it when his “inattention” caused this accident; but the word on the street is he just fell asleep. The Highway Patrol needs to step up and charge him and he needs to face the same punishment any other deputy would.
Megan, based upon your grammar, I assume you’re in junior hight school. But let me put this in words that even you can understand. FUNNY!!!!!(you spelled high wrong, or was that too big a word for you) Yes he was speeding, and he should be punished, but losing his license or getting fired is a bit much!! He was the only person involved in this wreck, so we don’t need to mention the IF’s. As major he was at the shooting scene and when he has friends that are getting shot at or he is near the shots, its distracting, no matter how many years he has been an officer that risk doesn’t get easier!!
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