Four people were killed and two were hurt Thursday afternoon when a dump truck failed to stop at a stop sign and slammed into contractors doing powerline work in Eden, North Carolina.
Tragedy struck just before 1:30 p.m. on Carroll Street at Church Street when 66-year-old Michael Ray Vernon failed to halt his truck at a stop sign and rammed into six contractors working for Carolina Power and Signalization.
The truck then hit an occupied bucket truck and veered off the road into a ditch.
Four workers were pronounced dead at the scene. Two others suffered life-threatening injuries. The bucket truck driver was also hospitalized with non-life-threatening wounds.
State police later identified the four victims as Douglas Garland Sides, 72; Madison Carter, 42; William Evans, 35; and Matthew Lockwood, 30.
Vernon, who sustained minor injuries, was not impaired at the time of the incident. He was charged with a stop sign violation and misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.
“We are saddened about the tragic event that happened today, and our hearts go out to the families and teammates of those involved,” Duke Energy said in a statement.
