Trucker Fighting for Life After Triple I-95 Tractor-Trailer Crash
A trucker rescued from a mangled big rig was in critical condition the day after he hit a tractor-trailer that pulled out in front of him on Interstate 95.
State troopers said 60-year-old Evivio Jesus Carrazana of Florida was rushed to WakeMed Hospitals in Raleigh with compound leg fractures and other serious injuries. Firefighters spent more than two hours Wednesday freeing Carrazana from his crumpled truck cab.
Carrazana's tractor-trailer slammed into a 2013 Freightliner hauling bricks near mile marker 110 on I-95 North. Trooper Jason Edwards of the N.C. Highway Patrol said the driver, 27-year-old Michael Brandon Carter of Leonardtown, Md., pulled off the highway's right shoulder directly in front of Carrazana.
"Instead of going down the shoulder and getting speed up, he probably wasn't even running 10 mph and just merged into the lane," Edwards said. "At that point, there was not enough room for that tractor-trailer to stop."
Carrazana's truck smashed into the trailer Carter was hauling, launching his cargo of bricks onto the highway. The cab split from the chassis and pitched forward, coming to rest on Carter's trailer.
Paramedics took Carrazana to the Raleigh hospital and brought Carter to Wilson Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.
A third tractor-trailer driven by 48-year-old Glenn Wood Tyndall Jr. of Dunn hit the back of Carrazana's rig, troopers said. Tyndall sustained bruising from the steering wheel but did not go to the hospital.
The crash destroyed Carrazana's tractor-trailer, which Edwards said is valued at roughly $80,000. He was hauling orange juice in a refrigerated trailer for a Florida-based company, according to the Highway Patrol.
Carter's truck, which is owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based Western Express, sustained about $15,000 in damage and lost roughly $5,000 worth of cargo, Edwards said.
Tyndall's truck was hauling U.S. mail and sustained about $1,000 in damage, mostly to the bumper and tires. Edwards said no mail was spilled from the trailer.
Troopers wrote Carter a citation for unsafe movement. Edwards said he pulled off the highway near mile marker 110 to make sure his cargo was secure, but he had just passed a truck stop at exit 107 in Kenly.
"He could have gotten off at the truck stop and taken the time to check his load," Edwards said.
Both lanes of I-95 North were shut down for about six hours while emergency crews cleared the wreckage. Motorists were detoured onto U.S. 301 before N.C. Department of Transportation officials reopened the highway around midnight.
The crash happened in southern Wilson County near the Johnston County line. Rock Ridge and Kenly volunteer firefighters and paramedics from Wilson and Johnston counties all converged on the site. Officials praised the cooperation between fire and rescue agencies and the Highway Patrol.
"With all the agencies involved, I think it went really smoothly," Wilson County EMS Capt. Bert Hendricks said. "You prepare for the worst, and all the agencies pulled together. They worked extremely well together."
corey@wilsontimes.com -- 265-7821
Copyright 2013 - The Wilson Daily Times, N.C.
