Sheriff: Edgecombe deputy killed while trying to make traffic stop

Deputy David L. Manning spotted a Nissan Altima speeding on N.C. Highway 111 north of Pinetops shortly after 6 p.m. and made a U-turn to follow the car, Atkinson said.

His patrol car then collided with a Chevrolet Silverado, and he was killed in the crash, the sheriff said. The two people in the pickup suffered serious injuries that weren't life-threatening, he said.

The identities of the two injured people weren't released.

The Altima ran off the highway into a ditch less than a quarter-mile south of the collision, and the driver fled the area on foot, Atkinson said.

The sheriff's office and local police departments brought in K9 units to search the area for the Altima driver but couldn't locate the person.

The State Highway Patrol is investigating Manning's collision.

"It's a sad day for us, and we ask that everyone across the state and in Edgecombe County pray for us," Atkinson said.

Manning, 24, had worked for the Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office for only five months. His grandmother said becoming a deputy was a mission for him.

"He didn't make it on the first go-round. He never gave up. He went back again, and he passed everything," Bobbie Jean Moore said.

Manning is survived by his girlfriend and their young daughter.

"He was good, nice to everybody," Moore said.

Manning's funeral is set for 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the Fleming Building at Edgecombe Community College.