3 Major Accidents Cause Serious Injuries and Major Delays on I-40 in Orange County, North Carolina (NC)

ORANGE COUNTY, NC - According to an online news report published on abc11.com, the Durham police are investigating three separate accidents, including eight vehicles, including an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer truck.*   

The multi-vehicle accidents shut down I-40 in Orange County, North Carolina, for many hours as the emergency responders, investigators, and clean up crews worked the accident scenes. The location of the three separate highway accidents occurred near the I-40 and NC-86 area.  All accidents happened during rush hour.  According to the news report, the accident scene closed down the westbound lanes of I-40 in Orange County, North Carolina, for about 5 hours.  Also, the accidents shut down two eastbound lanes along I-40. 

According to the Durham police, three motor vehicles, along with an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer truck, caught on fire.  Several of the individuals involved in the I-40 motor vehicle accidents were injured.  However, the report states that there were no fatalities or life-threatening injuries to report and statements provided by the Durham Police Department.

At approximately I-40 9:30 p.m., the westbound lanes of I-40 were cleared and reopened to traffic.  An investigation of the three serious motor vehicle accidents along I-40 in Orange County, North Carolina, is ongoing. 

According to a news story from wral.com, the North Carolina section of I-40 has been called "North Carolina's Most Dangerous Highway." A study of traffic data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System found that I-40 had over 61 fatalities during the summer months of 2015 to 2017.  The study looked at the summer months of May through September in the years 2015, 2016, and 2017.  I-40 also made the top three most deadly highways in several other states, including Tennessee (85 deaths), Arizona (51 deaths), New Mexico (50 deaths), Oklahoma (34 deaths), and Arkansas (6 deaths). I-85 was listed as North Carolina's second most dangerous highway with 50 fatalities during the same period.  

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or a family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:

https://www.wral.com/i-40-tabbed-as-most-dangerous-highway-for-summer-travel-in-nc/18537967/

https://abc11.com/i40-orange-county-i-40-crash/6358368/