
By Corinne Saunders
NAGS HEAD — The bicyclist involved in a collision with a Town of Nags Head fire truck on Saturday, Dec. 7, died from his injuries on Thursday, Dec. 12, at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, according to a Monday press release from the North Carolina Highway Patrol.
Gary Ferguson, 74, of Nags Head was identified as the bicyclist, the release from Master Trooper Rico L. Stephens said. The Highway Patrol was the agency leading the investigation.
Ferguson was a member of the Nags Head Planning Board, according to the Town of Nags Head website.
He was appointed to the board on Jan. 8, 2020, town spokesperson Roberta Thuman confirmed to Outer Banks Insider in an email.
Ferguson was formerly a town employee and at one time, the town planner, Nags Head Mayor Ben Cahoon said on Monday.
Ferguson was quoted as being the town’s planning and development director in a July 4, 1996, article in The Virginian-Pilot.
Ferguson was preceded in death by his wife Sandra Jones Ferguson, who had taught at both Manteo Elementary School and at First Flight Middle School and who died on Feb. 4, 2016, according to her online obituary.
Trever Tilley, 31, also of Nags Head, was identified as the fire truck driver during the collision and was cited for “unsafe movement” after Highway Patrol consulted with the district attorney, according to the release.
“Investigators determined both parties contributed to the collision,” the release said.
Tilley was attempting to turn left onto U.S. Highway 158 from E. Epstein Street in Nags Head around 4:45 p.m. on Dec. 7, and Ferguson “was on a bicycle traveling illegally in the pedestrian crosswalk on U.S. 158 when he was struck by the fire truck as it was turning” onto that road, Stephens wrote in the release.
Ferguson was transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, “where he succumbed to his injuries” on Dec. 12, the release said.
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Editor’s Note: This story was updated around 1 p.m. to reflect new information provided by the Town of Nags Head.
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