A North Carolina Department of Transportation worker was killed last month outside Fayetteville as he tried stop a man from stealing a utility truck, which sped off after plowing into the victim at full speed.
Video footage of the horrifying incident is going viral on social media following the brutal death of 38-year-old Jonathan Adam Lecompte on March 14.
Ricky Alex Driggers, 28, faces charges of first-degree murder, motor vehicle theft, evading arrest, and two counts of attempted robbery as local citizens mourn the tragic death of a man who was “greatly admired” in the community.
The deadly confrontation happened in the town of Lumberton, where a hooded man attempted to steal the ramshackle service vehicle, which was parked in the middle of West Fifth Street around 10:30 a.m., loaded with a ladder and other tools and equipment.
Authorities have not confirmed whether the work truck belonged to Lecompte, who is shown in the video wearing a fluorescent road crew vest as he fired a handgun at the suspect who had hopped onto the driver’s seat.
Lecompte approached and opened fire multiple times, but it didn’t appear that any bullets hit the suspect, who still managed to put the truck in reverse and burned the tires to avoid the line of fire.
“Don’t get in the g-ddamn truck, fool!” Lecompte yelled before he fired at least four shots at the man, but there was no indication that Driggers was wounded.
Lecompte was still standing in the road when he noticed the truck revving up and coming back toward him, at which time he warned a group of bystanders to: “Get out the way, he is going to run into us!”
Seconds later, the truck surged back full speed toward Lecompte, who couldn’t escape in time, and he was violently flipped into the air as several witnesses screamed in horror.
Another man standing nearby ran too and narrowly avoided being hit.
After running over Lecompte, the truck kept going, leaving bystanders stunned.
The incident reportedly began when the suspect was involved in a hit-and-run in the parking lot of Go Gas the 2600 block of West Fifth Street. Witnesses said the suspect had tried to carjack another vehicle at a McDonald’s directly across the street before the fatal encounter with Lecompte.
When the Lumberton Police Department got the call, officers arrived to find Lecompte lying lifeless on a small tract of vacant land next door to a Burger King.
He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Law enforcement sources alleged that Driggers had “intentionally struck” the victim and fled the scene.
Driggers was taken into custody the same day after he crashed the stolen truck on Selma Road near State Highway 41, police said later.
He remains in the Robeson County jail with no bond.
The state DOT issued a statement expressing sadness over Lecompte’s death
“NCDOT is heartbroken to share a Division 6 employee passed away in Robeson County on March 14, 2024. Our prayers and thoughts are with the family of Jonathan Lecompte. He was a dedicated, 16-year employee of the Department, working for the Sign Division of the Division 6 Traffic Services unit. Jonathan was greatly admired and will be sincerely missed.”
