CARY, N.C. — Traffic was backed up for miles on Interstate 40 Wednesday night as crews worked to clear a fatal crash involving several cars.
I-40 near Exit 287 in Wake County, or North Harrison Avenue, closed in both directions at around 5 p.m. All lanes of the interstate reopened at around 9:30 p.m., but 2 miles of congestion remained, officials said.
The accident started on I-40 West near Aviation Parkway and Reedy Creek Bridge. A man was parked on the right shoulder and attempted to get out of his vehicle and cross the Interstate, according to officials.
The pedestrian then stepped in front of a cement truck on I-40 West. Officials said that the truck swerved and attempted to avoid the pedestrian, but in the end hit him and struck two other cars on I-40 West in the process.
The truck then hit the guardrail separating I-40 West from I-40 East, overturned, and collided with two vehicles going the other direction on I-40, according to officials. Authorities say that even after hitting four cars and guardrails, the driver of the cement truck was not injured.
The pedestrian struck on the interstate, Curt Floyd, 56, from Raleigh, was killed in the crash.Two drivers struck by the cement truck were admitted to the hospital. Others involved in the crash suffered mild to moderate injuries.