Man dies in two-vehicle collision at Jake Alexander Boulevard, Faith Road
Published 12:05 am Wednesday, June 21, 2017
The intersection of Faith Road and Jake Alexander Blvd. was shut down on Tuesday afternoon that left one motorist dead and a power outage. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
This James River service truck ended up crashing into a utility pole after the initial collision with a pickup truck. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
By Shavonne Walker
shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — A man was killed Tuesday when he was thrown from his pickup in a two-vehicle crash at South Jake Alexander Boulevard and Faith Road.
A Rowan County sheriff’s deputy who was nearby performed CPR until emergency responders arrived, but the man died at the scene.
The victim’s name will be released once family members have been notified, authorities said.
The crash occurred about 2:30 p.m., sending both vehicles in the opposite direction.
Police spoke with Andrew Robert Culp of Gold Hill and Larry Clifford Shaver Jr. of Richfield, who were in a service truck for James River Equipment. Culp, who was driving, told police officers that he was traveling south on Jake Alexander Boulevard and his light was green. The driver of a black 2001 Ford pickup continued through the intersection, and the vehicles collided. The Ford pickup crashed into a stop sign on Jake Alexander Boulevard, coming to rest on the shoulder in front of Thrivent Financial. The service truck came to a stop on the shoulder facing Faith Road.
Culp said he applied his brakes once he saw the pickup did not stop, but he couldn’t stop in time, police Capt. Melonie Thompson said.
The driver of the pickup was the only one in the vehicle. He was already in the roadway when Bob Wagoner, whose yard borders South Jake Alexander Boulevard, walked with his grandson to the scene. Wagoner said he heard two loud booms and knew it had to be a crash.
“The loud ones, you know it’s a wreck,” he said.
Wagoner tried to direct traffic away from the deputy, who was on the ground trying to resuscitate the man. Wagoner said to his surprised that some vehicles continued to drive through the intersection despite downed utility lines.
“People travel too fast through the intersection,” Wagoner said.
He said he heard motorists slow down only after he heard the crash.
A broken utility pole and lines rested on top of the service truck. Culp and Shaver were not injured, but they stayed inside the truck until a Duke Energy crew arrived.
According to Duke Energy, about 144 residential and commercial customers were without power. Homes and businesses as far as O’Charley’s restaurant were affected by the outage. Crews with Spectrum, AT&T and Fibrant were all notified of the outage and were on the scene.
Police say the crash is still under investigation. The Salisbury Fire Department and Rowan Rescue Squad also responded.
Anyone who may have seen the crash is asked to contact Master Police Officer Matt Benjamin at 704-638-5333.
Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.
