Tractor-trailer driver dies after crashing into another semi in Rowan County
A tractor-trailer driver died after crashing into another parked tractor-trailer on the right shoulder of a highway in Rowan County Tuesday afternoon, a North Carolina State Highway Patrol spokesman said.
Wesley James Adams, 74, died upon impact with the rear of the other truck at the 72-mile marker on Interstate 85 northbound just before 5 p.m., said Trooper Whit Efird.
Both trucks caught on fire and Adams’ truck caused a hazmat situation, Efird said. The parked driver was treated for minor injuries and released, Efird said.
Adams, who was from Georgia, was carrying chemicals for soda products, which took the Rowan County Rescue Squad and the Salisbury Fire Department six hours to clean up the chemicals, the spokesman said.
The crash and cleanup shut the interstate down for close to five hours, Efird said.
“We were able to get one lane open a few hours later to try to get traffic moving,” he said. “But it was a very slow go.”
