Pedestrian killed in officer-involved accident spent years homeless, family says

STATESVILLE, N.C. — Close family members describe John Cousins Jr. as a quiet man with a big heart.

Cousins, 59, died Saturday morning after he was hit by a marked police car near the intersection of South Center and Bell streets in Statesville.

The officer involved in the accident, Sgt. Scott Reed of Statesville police, is on paid administrative leave and is not currently facing charges, officials said.

"He was a good man. He knew everybody. Everybody loved him,” Cousins' daughter, Justine, said.

Cousins said her father once lived a hard life and had been homeless for nearly eight years. Family members invited him to live in their home in central Florida where he stayed for more than two years before returning to Statesville.

"He wasn’t happy being in four walls," his son-in-law, Travis Hite, said.

Hite said troopers called his wife, Jenna, Saturday morning to tell her of her father's death, but said officials did not mention Cousins had been struck by a marked police vehicle.

"The only thing he stated was it was a traffic accident, he was hit by a car, and he was pronounced dead at the scene," Hite said.

Family members said Cousins lived with his girlfriend in Statesville at the time of the accident, and said he was three blocks away from his home when he was struck.

The accident remains under investigation by the North Carolina Highway Patrol.

Cox Media Group