A retired North Carolina Highway Patrol sergeant was seriously injured when he hit a deer while riding his motorcycle near the Pea Ridge Rd. exit on Hwy. 74. The incident occurred last Friday at about 11:30 p.m.

Mike Benfield of Dixie Trail, Rutherford County, was airlifted to Mission Hospitals in Asheville.

According to the Forest City Digital Courier, Benfield was riding his 1993 Honda motorcycle when a deer ran out in front of him; he hit the deer and then crashed off the right side of the road.

Benfield was treated in the neuro-trauma intensive care unit at Mission. His current condition is unknown.