EASTOVER, N.C. — Five people are dead after a March 5 crash involving an SUV and tractor-trailer in Cumberland County, North Carolina.
North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to the crash, which happened near U.S. Highway 13 at Hayfield Road just outside of Eastover, at 2:45 p.m.
WRAL reported neighbors describing the wreck as sounding like a “bomb going off.”
Witnesses told an officer on the scene that the SUV ran through a stop sign at an intersection and was hit by the tractor-trailer. The SUV caught on fire and was engulfed in flames.
The tractor-trailer’s driver, Tyrik Bannerman, 27, was sent to the hospital with minor injuries. Bannerman was later cited for not having a commercial driver’s license with him at the time of the crash.
The trucking company’s owner said Bannerman had just returned to work two weeks ago after taking time off.
U.S. 13 was closed for six hours as officials investigated the scene.
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