A possibly distracted motorist rear ended a truck that ran out of fuel on North Carolina’s I-77 this morning, causing a fatal crash.
The crash happened in the northbound lanes of I-77 in Huntersville near Exit 19 at 8:30 a.m.
According to reports, a truck ran out of fuel and stopped in the center lane. Soon after the truck stopped, a 26 year old male motorist from Charlotte collided with the truck at 65 m.p.h. The man was killed on impact.
Police say that there were no skid marks and it does not appear that the man attempted to brake.
Investigators suspect that the motorist may have been distracted, but the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
One other person was transported to the hospital with minor injuries from the crash.
Police say that they don’t plan to file charges against the truck driver because the crash happened before he could set up cones.
The crash shut down all northbound lanes of I-77, but all of the lanes reopened by 11 a.m.
NC DOT: I-77 N will be closed at least until 10:30 a.m. Officers say the fatal crash is causing traffic backups across Huntersville. @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/IkT99lwTuh
— Mark Barber (@MBarberWSOC9) November 16, 2016
Sources:
WSOCTV
ABC Columbia
WBTV