DURHAM, North Carolina — The Durham Police Department has fired Corporal Joseph King, 52, while he faces a misdemeanour death-by-motor-vehicle charge over an off-duty crash that killed a longtime pastor, Justin Heath, 67, and injured seven other people in Harnett County last month. The department terminated King effective Wednesday, November 4, ABC 11 reported — a decision the Christian Post reported on Monday, November 9, as King's criminal case continues.
The crash happened on the night of Saturday, October 17, at the intersection of N.C. Highway 210 and Old Stage Road, near Angier, on the Harnett-Johnston county line. Investigators said King, off duty and driving a Honda, ran a red light at about 9:45 p.m. and crashed into a church van being driven by Heath, the Harnett County Sheriff's Office told WRAL News. Deputies arrived to find the van flipped over beside the road, with several people trapped inside, and a Harnett County emergency-medical-services supervisor confirmed Heath's death at the scene.
A pastor who had preached on Lazarus hours earlier
Heath led Fore Christ Church and Cutting Edge Revelational Ministries, both in Mount Olive, with his wife Lynn — the couple had been married 47 years, and Lynn was among the injured. Earlier that same day, Heath had preached at a revival about Lazarus, whom the Bible says Jesus brought back to life, urging believers to cast off their grave clothes; he died within two hours of that sermon, the Christian Post reported. An obituary said Heath had worked as a deputy for the Wayne County Sheriff's Office from 1984 until 1996, before he became a pastor. Michael Bacon, a minister from New York who called Heath his spiritual father, wrote in a tribute that Heath preached his final sermon during the revival's second night and that no one there could have guessed how soon his words about Lazarus would take on new meaning.
Source: The Christian Post, Nov. 9, 2026
What the department said — and what investigators found
In a statement after the crash, Durham Police Chief Stephanie Mardis offered condolences to Heath's family and friends and to the people hurt. She said the department was carrying out its own internal review while the North Carolina State Highway Patrol led the crash investigation, and that the department holds its officers to “the highest standards of conduct.” King worked in the department's Uniform Patrol Bureau and had served on the force since July 2010. The Highway Patrol said the officer was not impaired, according to the Christian Post's earlier reporting on the charge.
Source: Durham Police Chief Stephanie Mardis statement, via The Christian Post, Nov. 9, 2026
King's termination is an employment decision by his department, taken while his criminal charge is still pending. Misdemeanour death by motor vehicle in North Carolina is a charge alleging that a person unintentionally caused a death while violating a traffic law. The charge is an allegation, and King is presumed innocent of it unless proven guilty in court.
What happens next
King's criminal case remains pending in Harnett County, where the crash happened; no trial date has been reported in the coverage so far. The department's internal review, described by Chief Mardis after the crash, ran alongside the Highway Patrol's investigation. For Heath's congregation in Mount Olive, and for the six people who needed hospital treatment after the van flipped, the firing closes the question of King's career — he had worn the Durham badge for more than 16 years — but not the court case that will decide the criminal allegation arising from the night of October 17. Awaaz Punjab will report the first court outcome as it is announced.
Source: ABC 11 (WTVD) via The Christian Post, Nov. 9, 2026
What is solid
- Durham police terminated Corporal Joseph King, 52, effective Nov. 4, while he faces a misdemeanour death-by-motor-vehicle charge filed Oct. 19.
- Investigators say King, off duty, ran a red light in a Honda at N.C. 210 and Old Stage Road on the night of Oct. 17 and hit a church van driven by Pastor Justin Heath, 67, who died at the scene; seven others were hurt, six needing hospital treatment.
- Durham Chief Stephanie Mardis said the department held an internal review while the State Highway Patrol led the investigation; the patrol said King was not impaired.
What is only claimed
- The Christian Post's report dates the crash to Oct. 18, while WRAL's account via the Harnett County Sheriff's Office places it on Saturday night, Oct. 17, at about 9:45 p.m. — this report uses the Saturday-night dating.
- Secondary summaries differ on Heath's years as a Wayne County deputy (an obituary cited by the Christian Post says 1984-1996).