A truck driver has been charged after he was involved in a crash on a North Carolina highway that left five people dead.
Charles Christian Haskell, 51, of Las Vegas, was charged with five counts of death by motor vehicle after a crash involving his tractor-trailer on Interstate 95 in Wilson County on July 24.
Haskell was hauling orange juice when he failed to slow his Freightliner tractor-trailer and struck the rear of a 2013 Chevy Tahoe, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said. Haskell’s truck then hit a 2017 Toyota Rav-4, 2024 Kenworth tractor-trailer and 2014 International tractor-trailer before stopping and catching fire.
William Carroll Tucker, 72, and Elizabeth Sharon Tucker, 66, both of Hephzibah, Georgia, died in the crash and were in the Tahoe. Edward Carroll Davis, 68, and Martha Warren Davis, 69, both of Greenville, North Carolina; and Linda Warren Whitehurst, 80, of Robersonville, North Carolina, died in the crash and were in the Rav-4.
Haskell sustained minor injuries in the crash, as did the other truck drivers.
The crash occurred on a section of the highway that was undergoing maintenance and had a closed lane. Traffic was detoured for nine hours.
Investigators believe speed was a factor in the crash and do not suspect drugs or alcohol played a role.
Haskell was held on a $25,000 bond at the Wilson County Detention Center but did not appear to be in custody Tuesday, according to jail records. It is not clear if he has an attorney.