North Carolina pastor killed in crash involving off-duty police officer

Rev. Justin Shane Heath, a 67-year-old Mount Olive pastor and former Wayne County deputy, was killed in a vehicle collision on Saturday night in North Carolina. The accident occurred at the intersection of Old Stage Road and N.C. Highway 210 shortly after 9:30 p.m. while Heath was driving a passenger van of church members home from a revival service.

According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the collision involved a Honda Civic driven by Joseph Brian King, a 52-year-old off-duty corporal with the Durham Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team. Investigators report that King allegedly ran a red traffic light, striking the van. The impact caused the van to overturn. Seven passengers in the van, including Heath’s wife, Lynn, were injured and transported to WakeMed in Raleigh with varying degrees of injury. King also sustained injuries.

Impairment was not cited as a contributing factor in the crash. The Highway Patrol indicated that King will be charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, pending consultation with the Harnett County District Attorney’s Office. Heath’s final sermon, delivered just hours before the crash, focused on the biblical story of Lazarus and the promise of eternal life.