The first death of a state trooper in North Carolina only served to underscore the necessity of the organization's mission.

George Ira Thompson was in his mid-30s when he was struck and killed July 2, 1929, in Wadesboro on his motorcycle by a vehicle driven by a 14-year-old boy. Even then, driving under the age of 16 was illegal.

The wreck occurred at the intersection of Greene and Caswell Streets, when the boy, who was traveling on Greene Street, hit the motorcycle traveling on Caswell Street, according to the July 4 edition of The Messenger and Intelligencer.

To commemorate his memory, a bridge dedication ceremony was held July 2 at the Polkton branch of South Piedmont Community College, 80 years after his death. The bridge in question is located near Brown Creek Animal Hospital on U.S. 74.

The ceremony was attended by dozens of members of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, local leaders and other citizens along with some remaining family.

He was a member of the first graduating class of troopers, on his way to the first day of work. The class' graduating ceremony was held the day before.

"It would be an ideal world if we lost no officers in the line of duty," Col. W.J. Wilson Jr. said.

He described Thompson as a friendly teetotaler who never used foul language.

"The death of Patrolman Thompson did not deter the other members of their mission," Secretary Reuben F. Young said. Thompson was traveling in a caravan with other troopers at the time of the accident, according to contemporary news accounts.

The July 4 issue of The Dispatch said the boy, Dewey Doby, and his father, G.W. Doby, of Albemarle, were arrested. The boy was charged with murder and his father charged with aiding and abetting.

Whether or not they were convicted is unknown.

"I'm just so happy they're doing something this memorable," Thompson's niece, Mary Thompson Reavis, said. The Winston-Salem woman heard stories about Thompson from her dad, his brother, since she was only a toddler at the time of his death.

She has kept a notebook of clippings about the man.

He lived in his native Tyro, where she said he was born Jan. 27, 1894, at the Tyro Historic Plantation Home and Tavern. This would make him 35 at the time of his death, but the formerly mentioned issue of The Dispatch cites his age as 34.

The formerly mentioned issue of the Messenger and Intelligencer states his age was 35.

Thompson was the son of Mr. and Mrs. G.M. Thompson. He had conducted a store and filling station for several years before undergoing the two months of training to become a patrolman.

He was considered the finest operator of a motorcycle of all of the patrolmen, since he had formerly worked at a dealership that sold the same type provided.