By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
ROCKINGHAM — The drivers of two tractor trailers avoided serious injury early Wednesday morning when the rigs they were operating collided on U.S. Route 1 South, at the 74 bypass just south of Waffle House.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
This Wrights Trucking rig was forced off the roadway in an early Wednesday morning collision with another tractor trailer.
Volunteers from East Rockingham and Cordova fire departments, along with personnel from the North Carolina Highway Patrol and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, responded to the scene shortly after 5:30 a.m.
One truck and trailer, from Wrights Trucking in Stanley, N.C., was forced off the roadway by the collision. The second, a Pro Sport Express Inc. rig from Elk Grove Village, Ill., was smashed and came to a stop in the middle of the road, its contents — boxes of frozen chicken — distributed over the highway. It’s believed the truck was hauling product from Mountaire Farms, formerly Piedmont Poultry. The company has a federal in Candor a hatchery near Siler City and a processing plant in Lumber Bridge.
The incident caused a significant slowdown to the morning commute as first-responders worked to clear the scene, which included a spill of an unknown number of gallons of diesel fuel.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
This Pro Sport Express rig must be towed from the scene, and the diesel fuel it spilled cleaned up.
Personnel from Richmond County Emergency Services and the N.C. Division of Highways also responded to the scene.
The driver of the Pro Sport Express truck said his brakes failed him, causing the crash. The official cause of the incident was not immediately known and is still being investigated by the Highway Patrol.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
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