Two people died on I-85 in Charlotte NC in early April when a tractor trailer driver lost control of his rig and slammed into a part of an interstate overpass.

The wreck happened at 4:30 AM on I-85 northbound near Sugar Creek Road in Charlotte on April 5. The North Carolina State Police stated that the truck driver lost control of his rig for some reason, which caused him to hit the bridge.

Both the truck driver and his passenger – Rodney Watson from Gulfport, Mississippi, died in the wreck.

Our truck accident attorneys licensed in both Virginia and North Carolina send our condolences to the families of both men. Many of the fatal truck accident lawsuits we work on involve truck drivers who either were distracted or fell asleep behind the wheel. We cannot say for sure what caused this wreck as both men are dead, but the evidence leans towards driving distracted or driver fatigue.

Our CDL manual in Virginia stresses how vitally important it is for all truck drivers to get proper rest and to never drive beyond their legal number of hours, as laid out by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The manual states that a truck driver’s first concern when off duty is to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep, which is scientifically proven to be the amount that most people need to stay alert all day.

In the aftermath of this tragic truck crash, the family of the deceased passenger will need to weigh the possibility of filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the trucking company and the estate of the deceased driver. In some cases, driver fatigue or distraction leads to fatal crashes, and multi-million dollar financial settlements result.