One Killed, Five Injured in Series of Accidents on I-40 in Burke County, NC | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

A driver losing control of his car and running off the side of the interstate during the early morning hours is not an unusual occurrence. And that is apparently what happened first in a series of accidents along I-40 in Burke County, North Carolina (NC), on April 30, 2012.

According to the McDowell News, a man driving a Saturn ran off the road, hit a guardrail and spun around before dawn. His car wound up half on the shoulder and half in the left lane of the highway, which led an approaching tractor-trailer to hit the disabled vehicle.

Neither the car’s driver nor the truck operator suffered injuries, and both exited their vehicles to survey the damage.

Then, a minivan coming upon the scene swerved to miss the car and wound up hitting and killing the car driver, who was standing in the right lane of the interstate. After striking the man, the minivan’s driver lost control and wrecked. Five passengers in the van sustained serious injuries, with one needing to be medevaced to a hospital in critical condition.


View a larger ma of the area where a fata collision involving a car, a minivan and a tractor-trailer occurred on I-40 in Burke County, NC.

Police continue to investigate the crashes and have not charged either the commercial truck driver or the man behind the wheel of the minivan. It is unclear what caused the car’s driver to run off the road, but fatigue and drowsy driving need to be considered in light of the timing of the original accident.

Authorities also need to determine whether either of the other drivers was speeding, driving recklessly or impaired by drugs or alcohol. Regardless of what the investigation reveals, the sad outcome of the chain of events remains unchanged: A man lost his life, and his family is left to deal the emotional devastation and financial toll.

As Carolina wrongful death attorneys, we know how difficult recovering from the loss of a loved one in a traffic accident is. Our condolences go out the victims’ loved ones.

EJL