A mechanic was killed while working on a broken down truck Tuesday evening in a local grocery store’s parking lot.

According to an employee at 3-Way Grocery in Deep Gap, a trucker was driving on Highway 421 Tuesday evening when his truck broke down.  The driver pulled into the grocery store’s parking lot and called his trucking company to send a mechanic to come and work on the vehicle.

Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman said the mechanic was 35-year-old Justin Davis of Germantown, which is just outside of Winston.

Hagaman said the driver told authorities he and Davis were lowering the trailer onto a support block when a piece of metal flew off of the support block and struck Davis.

Hagaman said an emergency call was placed at around 9:30 Tuesday evening.

According to Hagaman, Deep Gap First Responders and Watauga Medics were dispatched and arrived in a matter of minutes after dispatch.

Upon arrival, emergency personnel performed CPR on the mechanic.

Authorities reported the mechanic died en route or shortly after arriving at the Watauga Medical Center.

3-Way Grocery was not open at the time of the incident.

This story is still developing and Aisling Broadcasting will pass along any information when it becomes available.