A truck driver was killed in a fiery Virginia tractor-trailer crash in Rocky Mount, Virginia, on August 23. According to Virginia State Police and local news sources, the truck crash took place when a driver lost control of his commercial truck on Route 220 in Wirtz and slammed into a local business containing employees and customers.
On Thursday afternoon in Franklin County, a trucker traveling north on Route 220 ran off of the road and plowed into the Blue Ridge Antique Mall. Although there were four employees and ten customers in the store at the time of the accident, no one on the ground was injured in the wreck. However, the truck burst into flames upon impact, killing the driver of the vehicle and further damaging the building. When emergency workers arrived on the scene, they quickly ushered the building’s occupants a safe distance from the wreckage and fire.
Officials estimate that a half-million dollars of damage was done to the truck, building, and parking lot. At least five parked cars were struck by the truck as it barreled off of the road. They believe that the truck caught fire when the impact with the building ruptured its gas tanks. The truck accident is still under investigation and it is not clear why the driver lost control of his tractor-trailer in the moments before the crash.
Both sides of Route 220 were closed in the wake of the crash as emergency responders cleared the area, put out the fire, and collected evidence.
The Virginia truck accident attorneys at our law firm send their condolences to the family and friends of the North Carolina truck driver who lost his life in the crash.