Officer hospitalized after hit-and-run

Suspect in custody

A Rocky Mount police officer was injured Thursday night after a hit-and-run accident on Woodruff Road.

Rocky Mount police Capt. Laura Fahnestock said Officer Jill Tyson-Johnson, 33, was struck by a vehicle at 8:46 p.m. on the 2000 block of Woodruff Road near Goose Branch Drive.

Tyson-Johnson and another Rocky Mount officer were making an arrest when a vehicle driven by Charles Shurbutt, 47, of the 700 block of Colony Square, struck Tyson-Johnson and a police cruiser, Fahnestock said.

Fahnestock said Tyson-Johnson was taken to Nash General Hospital, where she was being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

“She’s met a lot of support from fellow officers,” Fahnestock said.

Police said Shurbutt fled the scene and was later arrested by Rocky Mount police and the N.C. Highway Patrol without incident.

Fahnestock said Shurbutt was found to be intoxicated when officers took him into custody and was being processed by authorities late Thursday night.

Charges are pending, Fahnestock said.

Radio reports from authorities Thursday night indicated two other collisions in the area possibly were connected to the hit-and-run.

Rocky Mount Police Chief John Manley said at least one of the other accidents – which occurred in the Woodruff Road area – was connected to the initial accident involving Tyson-Johnson.

Nash County deputies also assisted Rocky Mount police and the Highway Patrol in working the incident.