Interstate 85 southbound in eastern Gaston County closed for sevenhours after a fatal wreck early Saturday that involved a driver in a disabled vehicle with no lights on, police said.
Officers found the driver dead in the far right lane of Interstate 85 at the Belmont-Mount Holly Road bridge about 1:45 a.m., according to a Belmont Police Department news release on Saturday afternoon.
Police identified the driver as 65-year-old Jackson Munsey. He lived in Gaffney, South Carolina, public records show.
Police said a 25-year-old driver told them he was in the far left lane “when he suddenly observed a disabled vehicle in his lane with no lights on,” according to the release.
The driver couldn’t avoid the vehicle and hit it from behind, “ejecting the driver into the roadway, where he succumbed to his injuries,” police said in the release.
Motorists were detoured from I-85 south as officers from the Belmont police traffic division investigated the collision.
Belmont police urged anyone with information about the crash to contact Traffic Officer Mike Fussell at 704-825-3792. “All information received will be kept confidential,” police said.
Lanes opened at 7:45 a.m., according to the state Department of Transportation.
Also early Saturday, an 18-wheeler overturned on I-77 southbound, closing the highway for hours near Exit 65 Highway 901 in northern Iredell County, officials said.
Union Grove Fire & Rescue released a photo of the truck on Facebook.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
