A Charlotte man died Thursday afternoon when the tractor-trailer he was driving collided with the rear of a second big rig in the lane to the eastbound weigh station on Interstate 40 west of Statesville.
Harold Maurice Bennett, 49, was killed instantly in the crash, which happened around 1:30 p.m., authorities said.
Trooper Bobby Lineberger of the N.C. Highway Patrol's Motor Carrier Division said Bennett was driving a truck for Food Lion, which is based in Salisbury. Bennett pulled his truck into the lane to go into the weigh station but couldn't slow down before striking the rear of a flat-bed truck driven by Eddie Wray of Bedford, Ind.
Wray's truck was pushed forward and hit a UPS truck, driven by Martin McMath of Greensboro, Lineberger said.
Neither Wray nor McMath required medical treatment.
The engine compartment of the Food Lion truck was driven beneath the flat-bed trailer.
A wrecker was called in to pull the two trucks apart before members of the Iredell County Rescue Squad, with assistance from the Claremont Rescue Squad, could cut Bennett from the crushed cab.
The crash closed the eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 between Sharon School Road and Old Mountain Road for more than four hours.
Traffic was diverted off I-40 at Sharon School Road, but some motorists, who were traveling east before the exit was closed, were stuck between Sharon School Road and the wreck scene.
Traffic was backed up more than a mile behind the wreck scene, and some motorists shut off their engines and were milling about on the interstate.
Some used umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun.
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