HILLSVILLE, VA : Carroll County deputy dies in crash on Thursday, March 9th 2017

Curtis Bartlett, a Carroll County Sheriff’s Department deputy, died in the line of duty last Thursday night, killed when his patrol car collided with a tractor-trailer while on the way to assist fellow officers involved in a chase.Though he met a tragic end, Carroll Sheriff J.B. Gardner said Bartlett, 32, died doing what he lived for: “He wanted to chase bad guys and catch them.”

The sheriff’s department was still processing the loss of one their own on Friday. Some of Bartlett’s fellow deputies had to work the crash, along with Virginia State Police.

“Some of my guys who were there and involved and saw? They’re just devastated,” Gardner told The Gazette of the officers.

Bartlett was only the third Carroll County officer in history to die in the line of duty.

The crash occurred shortly after 10 p.m. on March 9, at the intersection of U.S. 58 and the Interstate 77 Exit 14 exit ramp in Carroll County.

According to a state police report, Bartlett was responding to assist a fellow deputy and a state trooper with an ongoing pursuit in the county. Bartlett “was traveling west on Route 58 with emergency lights and sirens activated when [his vehicle] collided with a tractor-trailer making a left turn onto Route 58 from the Interstate 77 Exit 14 ramp,” the report said. “The tractor-trailer had the green light and was only traveling approximately 25 mph. The deputy’s vehicle was unable to avoid the tractor-trailer and struck the rear tandem.”

Bartlett died at the scene. The report said he was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Bartlett’s dog, Tyco, survived the crash.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 59-year-old man from Barren Springs, was not injured and is not being charged.

The Virginia State Police Crash Reconstruction Team responded to the scene to assist with the ongoing investigation.

Source :
Carroll County deputy dies in crash