GASTON COUNTY, North Carolina — One person was killed and another was seriously injured when two tractor-trailers collided early on Monday, October 26, on northbound Interstate 85 just past Exit 23 for McAdenville Road, near McAdenville, according to reporting by WSOC-TV and WBTV summarised by HeyDay News. Gastonia police described it as a major crash, and Gaston County paramedics confirmed the death and said the other person was taken to hospital.

Source: WSOC-TV, via HeyDay News

WSOC reported the injured person had serious injuries, while WBTV reported that person was expected to survive. WBTV placed the crash at around 2:45 a.m. and WSOC at just after 2:30 a.m.; neither time has been independently established as the exact moment of impact, and officials have not publicly explained how the trucks collided. WCNC reported that one truck struck and knocked over the concrete median, and traffic cameras showed a boom truck helping clear the wreckage, WBTV reported.

All northbound lanes were closed through much of the morning commute and reopened around 9 a.m., a shutdown of roughly six to seven hours, WSOC reported. By 6:30 a.m. northbound traffic was backed up about four miles, WBTV reported, the left southbound lane was also closed during the response, and Gastonia police warned drivers that rush hour would be messy. Queen City News also reported the overnight northbound closure, citing the North Carolina Department of Transportation and Gastonia Police.

Source: Queen City News, via SignalNews Charlotte

Neither the person killed nor the hospitalized survivor had been identified in the available reporting, and their roles in the vehicles were not established. Interstate 85 is a major freight corridor through the Carolinas used heavily by long-haul truckers, including Punjabi drivers in the diaspora. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.