EDEN, N.C. — Four powerline workers were killed and two more were injured Thursday after a dump truck ran through a stop sign and crashed into the men in north-central North Carolina, authorities said.
According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, contractors for Duke were working on powerlines in the town of Eden when a city dump truck failed to stop at the intersection, hitting six men.
Four men were killed, troopers said. They were identified as Douglas Garland Sides, 72, of Summerfield; Madison Carter, 42, of Sandy Ridge; William Evans, 35, of Randleman; and Matthew Lockwood, 30, of Winston-Salem.
‘Breaks my heart’; 4 dead in Eden after city dump truck hits several people working on power lines https://t.co/KNG2TbtSYJ
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Two other men, ages 24 and 34, were taken to an area hospital with critical injuries. Authorities said the older man was now in stable condition, but the 24-year-old remained in critical condition.
Investigators said that Michael Ray Vernon, 66, of Eden, was driving the dump truck. Officials said that Vernon continued north after the crash and hit an occupied bucket truck before going off the road and hitting a ditch.
The occupant of the bucket truck was taken to an area hospital but did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
Vernon was charged with a stop sign violation and misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.
“It’s heartbreaking for me because that could’ve been my family. It breaks my heart,” said Cindy Anthony, who witnessed the crash. “These people had wives. They had children. It’s heartbreaking because the children don’t have a dad. The wives don’t have a husband anymore. It’s just terrible.”
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