SMITHFIELD – The State Highway Patrol is investigating a crash involving six vehicles on Interstate 95 near Smithfield. The collision happened in the northbound lanes, just north of the Brogden Road Exit (Exit 93), around 11:30pm Friday.
Traffic was slowing to a stop to allow construction workers to pull a cable across busy I-95. A tractor trailer carrying a full load of produce did not slow down and plowed into the rear of several cars at an estimated 60 miles per hour, according to the Highway Patrol.
Cars were sent spinning off the roadway, leaving them partially crushed and their occupants injured.
One involved driver said, “It sounded like a bomb going off” when the big truck crashed through the line of nearly stopped cars.
Debris was scattered over a wide area. Both northbound lanes of I-95 were closed for more than two hours.
The occupants in four of the five cars were transported to area hospitals. At least two of the injured suffered serious injuries. The semi driver was not injured. He was charged with careless and reckless driving.
Four Oaks and Smithfield Fire Departments responded along with multiple Johnston County EMS units.
