CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A tractor-trailer was engulfed in flames following a fatal crash on I-485, the Charlotte Fire Department reports.
Medic reports one person was killed on the scene.
The crash had traffic along both directions of I-485 near the I-77 interchange by Huntersville at a standstill for hours.
Highway Patrol said around 9 a.m. Friday, a concerned driver called to report that a broken-down car was left in a dangerous spot on the I-485 on-ramp, at the I-77 interchange.
Minutes later highway patrol said they received a second call, this time reporting that a tractor-trailer had entered the on-ramp and struck the car.
Troopers say, unfortunately, that impact sent the tractor-trailer crashing into the wall of the Northlake Centre Drive overpass, where it burst into flames, killing the driver of the tractor-trailer. The driver’s identity has not yet been released.
“I was passing through here and there was tons of smoke coming out of here and everyone was pulling over, so I pulled over,” said witness Shawn Chaffin. “Who gets to find out today that whoever was driving that truck isn’t coming home. It’s going to be devastating."
Firefighters and emergency crews battled nearly 100-degree temps as they worked for almost six hours to clear the scene. At times, firefighters were seen receiving treatment from medic.
“There was a large amount of oil, large amount of fuel, so CMPD and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fire Department is helping us with that clean-up but unfortunately as always it takes several hours,” Trooper Ray Pierce said.
Trooper Pierce says it’s likely investigators will be back out to the scene Saturday to continue their investigation. He says the driver of the broken-down car told investigators he was on his way to a job interview when the car broke down and he arranged for a ride to pick him up, leaving the car on I-485.
No word yet on whether the driver of the car will face charges.
North Carolina Highway Patrol says three people died in three separate car crashes Friday, including this incident, another in Charlotte, and one in Gaston County.