A member of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol in eastern North Carolina has died following a COVID-19 diagnosis, officials confirmed Thursday. First Sergeant Timothy "Lee" Howell was a part of Troop A, District 9 -- Troop A is based in Greenville. In a Facebook post, Highway PatrolColonel Glenn M. McNeill, Jr. , said Howell died Thursday afternoon at UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill following a "courageous, lengthy battle" with the virus.