I-77 Bridge Dedicated in Honor of Iredell County Sheriff Killed in the Line of Duty

(Iredell County Sheriff's Office)

STATESVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A bridge over an Iredell County highway was dedicated Thursday to a former local sheriff who was killed while on duty 90 years ago .

The bridge spanning Interstate 77 South at I-40 is now known as the Sheriff Godfrey “Click” Kimball Bridge.

According to the Iredell County Sheriff's Office, on August 17, 1934, Kimball was shot and killed while trying to arrest a man wanted for kidnapping and robbing the mayor of Statesville and stealing his car.

Kimball and Deputy Ralph Gilbert located the vehicle in the Elmwood community. The two men went to the residence to confront the suspect, where they were shot.

Both deputies were injured and transported to Long Hospital in Statesville, where Kimball succumbed to his injuries.

Kimball was also a veteran of World War I, then won elections for Iredell County sheriff in 1930 and 1932.

Kimball's family members were joined Thursday by Sheriff Iredell Darren Campbell, North Carolina Sen. Vickie Sawyer, U.S. Rep. Jeffery McNeely and officials from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The suspect who killed Kimball was sentenced to 70 years in prison. On September 30, 1948, he escaped from a Jackson County prison camp. The next day, he was shot and killed by Jackson County Sheriff Charles G. Middleton.