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I-73 chain-reaction crash started with tractor-trailer switching lanes, hitting car

Highway Patrol said ten cars were involved in a series of three crashes, and it all started with a tractor-trailer.

ASHEBORO, N.C. — Highway Patrol says ten vehicles were involved in a series of three crashes on I-73 North in Asheboro Monday morning, and it all started when a tractor-trailer tried to switch lanes and hit a car. 

The crashes happened shortly before 6:20 a.m. between Vision Drive (Exit 76) and Spero Road. The scene cleared a couple of hours later. One person was taken to the hospital. 

CRASH #1

Highway Patrol says Ronald Wheeler was driving a tractor-trailer in the left lane when he tried to change lanes and hit a Nissan in the right lane. The driver of the Nissan, Deizer Hernandez, lost control, went off the highway and hit the median guardrail. One of Hernandez's passengers was injured and taken to Randolph Health. Wheeler was charged with making an unsafe lane change. Trexler Trucking, Inc. is listed as the registered owner of the truck Wheeler was driving. 

CRASH #2

Highway Patrol says a Chevrolet SUV, driven by James Chapman, traveled off the roadway to avoid hitting Hernandez (from the first crash). That's when Lila Haga, driving a Dodge pickup truck, traveled off the roadway and hit the Chevrolet SUV and a guardrail. There were no injuries in this separate crash and Haga was charged with failure to reduce speed. 

CRASH #3

Then a third crash happened involving six drivers. The drivers are listed by the order they were traveling: 

  • Jose Valenciaprieto in a 2018 Hyundai passenger car
  • Reina Martinez in a 2017 Honda passenger car
  • Morgan Farr in a 2012 Nissan passenger car
  • Vernon Morton in a 2016 Chevrolet pickup
  • Scott Trotter in a 2015 Dodge pickup
  • Brianna Arevalo in a 2016 Nissan SUV

The first three drivers were stopped in the travel lane. The fourth driver was slowing down and was hit in the rear by the fifth driver, who was hit by the sixth driver. No injuries were reported. Trotter and Arevalo, the last two drivers in the chain-reaction crash, were both charged with failure to reduce speed. 

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