Driver killed when truck overturns on U.S. 52

A tractor-trailer overturned on U.S. 52 just east of Rockwell on Thursday morning. The driver of the truck was killed in the single vehicle accident. The truck was carrying glass and the load was scattered along the ditch. At the time of this photo the truck was cleared from the roadway. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

A tractor-trailer bearing the company name Millis Transfer Inc., overturned on U.S. 52 just east of Rockwell on Thursday morning. The driver of the truck was killed in the single vehicle accident. The truck was carrying glass and the load was scattered along the ditch. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

A tractor-trailer overturned on U.S. 52 just east of Rockwell on Thursday morning. The driver of the truck was killed in the single vehicle accident. The truck was carrying glass and the load was scattered along the ditch. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

By Steve Huffman

shuffman@salisburypost.com

ROCKWELL — A tractor-trailer driver died in a single-vehicle accident south of Rockwell early Thursday.

Curtis Roseboro, 48, of Mooresville, was pronounced dead after being thrown from his tractor-trailer when it overturned.

The accident happened just south of U.S. 52's intersection with Sides Road, close to Dutch Second Creek. The trucker failed to navigate a curve as the highway nears the creek.

According to the N.C. Highway Patrol, Roseboro was headed south on U.S. 52 when his 2007 Freightliner tractor-trailer crossed the center line and ran off the left side of the road. The truck overturned and hit a metal guard rail as well as trees.

Both the tractor and trailer of the rig were demolished. The accident was reported at 5:13 a.m.

Trooper M.T. Eason of the Highway Patrol said the tractor-trailer was registered to Millis Transfer Trucking of Black River Falls, Wis. He said an investigation continues, but said it'll probably never be known if excessive speed was involved, or if Roseboro fell asleep at the wheel.

"Normally, something triggers the event, but I don't know what that could be at this time," Eason said.

He said despite the fact that Roseboro was ejected from the vehicle, it's impossible to say for sure that he wasn't wearing a seat belt.

The tractor-trailer was hauling sheets of glass, which were shattered and left littering the side of the highway hours after the crash. All of U.S. 52 was closed immediately following the accident, and only a single lane of the highway was opened by 9 a.m.

A woman who answered the phone at Millis Transfer Trucking said the company would have no comment on the accident.