Man slams into tracker trailer, dies

JOHNSTON COUNTY (WTVD) -- A high speed accident killed a Johnston County man Sunday morning.

The wreck happened on Interstate 95 just before 6 a.m.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol says 30-year-old James Eddie Tyson Jr. of Kenly was killed when the Chevy Lumina he was driving, ran right into the back of a tractor trailer on Northbound I-95, between Kenly and Micro.

Witnesses told Highway Patrol Troopers that the tractor trailer and the car were in the right hand lane, when Tyson, travelling at an estimated 90 to 95 miles an hour, slammed right into the back of the tractor trailer, without braking, and burst into flames.

The driver of the tractor trailer, Eric May of Rockville, Maryland, felt the impact, stopped the tractor trailer on the shoulder, and put the fire out with a fire extinguisher. Interstate-95 was reduced to one lane, but was not shut down.

Tyson was pronounced dead at the scene. It is not clear if alcohol was a factor, but weather is not being considered a cause. Tyson was wearing his seatbelt.

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