Man killed by Lee County deputies after initiating gunfire at crash scene on Highway 280
State investigators are conducting an investigation after a possible intoxicated man was shot and killed by Lee County deputies after initiating gunfire at a crash scene on Highway 280 late Friday night.
The ordeal began on June 9, 2023 at around 10:45 P.M. central standard time, when the Lee County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a possible intoxicated driver travelling east bound on US highway 280 near the intersection of Lee Road 250 in the Bleecker community of southeast Lee County.
The caller described the vehicle as a white Ford F-150 and that it was swerving across lanes and had run off the road into a ditch. A responding deputy located a white Ford pick-up at approximately 10:55 pm in a ditch less than 1 mile east of Lee Road 250 off US highway 280.
The deputy approached the truck and observed a lone occupant of the vehicle, an adult male, who appeared to be asleep in the driver’s seat of the vehicle. The deputy also observed what appeared to be a rifle in the seat beside the individual. The deputy then requested another deputy to respond to the scene.
A second deputy arrived at approximately 11:00 pm and the deputies observed the truck beginning to back out of the ditch. At this point, a gunshot was fired at the deputies from the vehicle. The two deputies returned fire toward the driver’s section of the vehicle. The deputies approached the truck as additional deputies arrived and determined the subject had been struck by their return fire and notified emergency medical services.
“Deputies also noticed the subject had a handgun in one hand and a long gun, later identified as a semi-automatic shotgun with an extended magazine in the seat beside him,” authorities said. Responding medical personnel confirmed the subject was deceased at the scene. Lee County Coroner Daniel Sexton identified the man as 58-year-old Lucius Benjamin Gibbs from Cross, South Carolina.
He will be going to Montgomery for a post mortem exam as is standard for any shooting.
“As required by standard policy, the State Bureau of Investigation division under the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency was requested to conduct an independent investigation of the incident,” authorities added.
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