TARBORO, N.C. (WNCN) — The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy was seriously injured in a wreck while on duty Wednesday.

Highway Patrol said the crash happened around 2 p.m. at Wilson Street and Spencer Drive in Tarboro, according to the sheriff’s office.

A driver of a 2005 Cadillac, Charlie Junior Mercer, 41, of Princeville, made a left turn in front of Deputy Karena Velasco.

Velasco was transported to ECU Health in Greenville for treatment of injuries. Mercer was also injured and transported to the hospital.

“Deputy Karena Velasco was seriously injured in a wreck on duty. She is currently hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and will face a long recovery. We ask that the community lifts Deputy Velasco and her family in prayer during this trying time,” the sheriff’s office stated in a social media post.

“My deputy is going into surgery tomorrow with a few broken bones,” Sheriff Clee Atkinson said Wednesday. “She is alert and talking, thank God.”