On a flawless summer morning, Pembroke marked a somber anniversary.

There, city officials and others gathered Friday for a ceremony to rename a city street after Sgt. Robert "Bobby" W. Crapse Sr., the Bryan County Sheriff’s deputy killed a year ago by a wrong-way driver on I-95.

The street, now Sgt. Robert W. Crapse Drive, runs in front of the Bryan County Sheriff’s Department, and Pembroke Police Sgt. Matt Lynn found that fitting.

"It’s in a perfect location, right next to the sheriff’s office," said Lynn, who worked with Crapse at BCSD, during an emotional tribute to a man he called his brother, partner and best friend. "(It’s) a place where he spent most of his life after high school. Now when we lock one up, every time we come to the jail, we’ll be reminded of Sgt. Crapse."

What’s more, the road will help tell future generations the young deputy’s story, Lynn said. Crapse was 32 when he was killed June 15, 2012, on the interstate while driving from South Bryan to North Bryan after finishing a shift working traffic.

"Our kids who visit the recreation center behind me or the baseball fields to my right, they will learn the name and maybe ask questions about who Sgt. Crapse was," Lynn said. "Once they hear the stories, they will learn the road was not named after him because of how he died, but how he lived and the sacrifice he made for his community and the state of Georgia."

Read full story in June 15 issue of the Bryan County News.