GASTON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA — One person was killed and another was taken to a hospital with serious injuries early Monday, October 26, after two tractor-trailers collided on Interstate 85 North near Exit 23 at Lowell, according to Gaston EMS.
Gastonia Police said the crash happened around 2:45 a.m. and that one of the drivers died. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said the tractor-trailers struck each other and one of them hit the concrete median and was knocked over. I-85 North was closed at Exit 23 for several hours.
Traffic backed up heavily into Gastonia, with I-85 South extremely slow back to the Catawba River bridge and I-74 also heavily congested. Gastonia Police said all secondary roads, bridges, and exits near the scene were clogged and warned that “rush hour will be messy.” Drivers were told to leave I-85 at Exit 22 and re-enter at Exit 23.
All lanes reopened by 12:30 p.m.
The names of the people involved have not been released. The cause of the crash has not been released.
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