Ranger dragged 30 feet, driver charged with using car as deadly weapon

KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. — Rangers said John Bolin couldn’t wait to get into Crowders Mountain State Park in Gaston County Sunday.

His impatience led to criminal charges.

When a ranger talked to Bolin, he drove away with the ranger holding onto the door handle, dragging him for 30 feet.

Gastonia police later stopped Bolin, driving with a car full of people. Bolin was charged with using the car as a deadly weapon and possession of marijuana.

The ranger needed medical attention.

“That's amazing,” hiker Rick Lewis said. “I don't see why anyone would have a reason to do anything  like that major to an officer."

A spokesman in Raleigh for the state parks system said that at any point the crowds are as large as the population of a small town.

“Some of these people really don't have the same feeling about the state parks as others do and a lot of them, frankly, can get a rude awakening,” said Charlie Peek, from the North Carolina State Parks System.

The rangers are certified law enforcement officers, but there are only six of them.

There was an estimated 10,380 people at the park Sunday.

“I don't think I expected this many people,” hiker Brandi Ruth said

Cox Media Group