Patrol: Trooper at fault in wreck

Associated Press
Published: September 10, 2008

    RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina Highway Patrol officials say a trooper killed in an accident Tuesday lost control of his vehicle on a wet road and slammed into a garbage truck.
    Highway Patrol Capt. Everett Clendenin said in a statement Wednesday that Trooper A.J. Stocks was responding to a collision when he crossed dividing lines on a curve on a wet road in Garner.
    He overcorrected while trying to regain control, causing his car to slide into a garbage truck. The truck’s driver, 23-year-old Brian Buckner, suffered minor injuries.
    The speed of the patrol vehicle has not been determined, but officials don’t believe it was excessive.
    Stocks is the 60th trooper to die in the line of duty since 1929. The 43-year-old Stocks leaves behind his wife and one child. Funeral arrangements are still pending.