Cumberland Co. deputy killed by drunk driver while investigating business robbery, sheriff says
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A drunk driver is being blamed for the death of a 23-year-old Cumberland County deputy who was investigating a robbery Friday morning.
"I'm standing here with a heavy heart," Sheriff Ennis Wright said. "We lost a good deputy; mother lost a son; sisters and brothers lost a brother ... I look at it as a senseless tragedy that could have been prevented."
Deputy Oscar Yovani Bolanos-Anavisca Jr. was working a robbery investigation at the Circle K on Gillespie Street early Friday morning. He had gone off with a K-9 officer to search for the robbery suspect.
On his way back to the Circle K around 2:45 a.m., a car blew through a red light and crashed into him as he crossed the street.
The driver, later identified as Nicholas Terlizzi, 24, kept going but was found a short distance away, according to the sheriff's office.
Terlizzi is charged with felony death by vehicle, felony hit and run, driving while impaired, reckless driving to endanger, driving while license revoked, no liability insurance, revoked tag, driving motor vehicle with no registration, and failing to stop for a steady red light
He is behind bars at the Cumberland County Detention Center without bond.
Records show Terlizzi has a long history of dismissed traffic violations in Cumberland County dating to 2017.
Deputy Bolanos-Anavisca started his career with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office in November, 2020. Before being assigned to patrol, Bolanos-Anavisca served as a school resource officer at Hope Mills Middle School.
"We share the sorrow with his immediate family and the loss of one of our own. Please keep Deputy Oscar Bolanos-Anavisca, Jr's family, friends, and the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
