The State Highway Patrol said there were more than 1,000 crashes in North Carolina on Wednesday. Here is a look at some of Wednesday’s most impactful crashes.
Deadly 50-vehicle crash one of many as snow swept through NC on Wednesday
State Highway Patrol Trooper 1st Sgt. Christopher Knox said there were more than 1,000 crashes in North Carolina on Wednesday.
For comparison, Knox said the state had 185 crashes on Tuesday.
Here is a look at some of Wednesday’s most impactful crashes:
One person killed, 6 hospitalized after series of crashes on I-40/I-85 in Orange County
At least one person died in one of Wednesday’s crashes along I-40 West at the I-85 South connector in Orange County, according to the Orange Rural Fire Department.
The State Highway Patrol (SHP) said about 53 cars were involved in a dozen crashes along this stretch of I-40 and I-85.
The SHP said two separate crashes happened at the connector, which caused traffic to stop.
At 3:02 pm., there was a crash on I-40 West at Exit 261 (Old N.C. 86) near Hillsborough.
Minutes later, at 3:24 p.m., there was a second crash on I-40 West at the same exact spot (Old N.C. 86).
That’s when the pileup began, with multiple vehicles slamming into stopped traffic. State troopers said a tractor-trailer hit a car, killing 78-year-old Jerolyn Day Wilson, of Burlington.
Troopers said William Crowell Kellam, 44, of Spartanburg, South Carolina – the driver of the tractor-trailer that hit and killed Wilson – was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle and exceeding safe speed for conditions.
Orange County Emergency Management coordinator Kirby Saunders said two tractor-trailers jackknifed along I-85 where it merges near I-40. At least four tractor-trailers were involved in these crashes.
Saunders said authorities took six people to the hospital. He said authorities took another 10 people away from the scene to a warming center.
Three more multi-vehicle crashes happened after this deadly crash.
“I’m thankful to not be out there,” said Orange County resident Melissa Perry. “My daughter was playing in the snow earlier and heard three really loud booms.”
I-40 West was closed for hours at Old N.C. Highway 86 just south of Hillsborough.
Crashes pile up in Johnston County
A truck crashed into a home Wednesday afternoon in Johnston County.
Authorities took the driver of a pickup truck to the hospital after he lost control on N.C. Highway 39 and slammed into the house.
The crash caused major structural damage, enough for the Johnston County inspector to declare the home unsafe.
Authorities told WRAL News no one was inside the home at the time of the crash.
One of the first major crashes on Wednesday happened on Interstate 95, when a tractor-trailer crashed and shut down the southbound side of the highwa
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