On Saturday, November 14th, at 12:18 p.m., the North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to and investigated a fatal collision on US 421at the 270-mile marker, in Wilkes County.
A Freightliner non-CMV dump truck was traveling East in the right lane on US 421 at the Dennyville Road exit. A vehicle attempted to merge onto US 421 causing the driver of the Freightliner to swerve to avoid contact with the merging vehicle. The truck then traveled off the road to the left, colliding with the guardrail and the end of a bridge. The truck then traveled over the edge of the bridge and came to rest on Dennyville Road below.
The driver of the truck, Alberto Maya Benitez, 48, of Yadkinville, succumbed to his injuries at the scene of the collision.
The District Attorney will be contacted in reference charges with the driver of the non-contact vehicle.
The driver was wearing his seat belt, and alcohol was not a contributing factor to the collision.