A Franklin police officer who had only worn the badge for about nine months was killed Thursday when his motorcycle collided with a turning van on N.C. 28, leaving behind a wife and a two-month-old daughter. Officer Marcus Levi McCarson was 21 years old.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said the crash happened at 12:08 p.m. on September 17 as a van attempted to make a left turn from Queens Branch Road onto N.C. 28, striking McCarson's motorcycle, according to WLOS. McCarson was pronounced dead at the scene. He was off duty and riding the motorcycle at the time of the collision, the outlet reported.
McCarson had just started his law enforcement career with the Franklin Police Department in December 2025, following a stint in the United States Marine Corps, per the same report. Fox Carolina reported that the department said Marcus served the town of Franklin with professionalism and integrity, and that he was loved like a little brother by everyone at the police department.
A New Father, Nine Months Into the Job
Colleagues remembered McCarson as a devoted husband to his wife, Abby, and a new father to his daughter, Azzi, born just two months before the crash, the station's report noted. His obituary, posted by Macon Funeral Home, identified his surviving wife as Abigail Carpenter McCarson and his daughter as Azzi Kate McCarson.
News of McCarson's death spread quickly among local outlets and on social media Thursday. On Threads, the account @wxii12news wrote simply that Franklin Police Department Officer Marcus McCarson died Thursday in an off-duty motorcycle crash.
Funeral and Burial Arrangements
Macon Funeral Home is handling the arrangements for McCarson, according to the obituary. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, September 22, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Smoky Mountain Performing Arts Center, with a funeral service to follow at 1 p.m. that same day. Burial is set to take place at Woodlawn Cemetery.
The crash remained under investigation as of Friday, and no details on the van driver's identity, condition, or potential fault had been released.
