State Highway Patrol troopers and police officers were on scene Wednesday afternoon of a multi-vehicle collision at Seventh Street and North Roberts Avenue in Lumberton. One person was killed in the crash.
Cause of the multi-vehicle collision was unclear Wednesday afternoon
Members of the State Highway Patrol’s reconstruction team could be seen with other law enforcement officers Wednesday afternoon at a fatal crash on Seventh Street and North Roberts Avenue in Lumberton. Five vehicles, including a tractor-trailer rig, were involved in the crash.
LUMBERTON — A 35-year-old St. Pauls man was killed and three others were taken to the hospital after five vehicles collided Wednesday afternoon at North Roberts Avenue and Seventh Street in Lumberton.
The crash happened about 1 p.m., said Trooper S.C. Hunt, of the State Highway Patrol.
Michael Darrell Smith, of Erika Road, died after the blue passenger car he was operating ran the stoplight while traveling north on Seventh Street, Hunt said. A silver SUV traveling east on North Roberts Avenue struck the driver’s side of the Smith’s vehicle. A burgundy passenger car then struck the rear of the SUV. A tractor-trailer rig traveling west on North Roberts Avenue also collided with the Smith’s vehicle and pushed it into a black SUV.
The circumstances behind the multi-vehicle crash were not clear late Wednesday afternoon. But the results were.
The tractor-trailer came to rest in the ditch at Belle Plaza. Other vehicles could be seen in the middle of North Roberts Avenue, with others situated near A & B Mini Mart on Seventh Street.
Three of the at least five people involved in the crash were taken by ambulance to the hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening, Troper Hunt said.
The State Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. Local agencies were working to clear the intersection at 5:52 p.m, according to officials. The intersection was cleared by 6:30 p.m.
Cars lined Linwood Avenue as police detoured motorists off North Roberts Avenue. Also closed as of about 5:52 p.m. Wednesday were North Roberts Avenue and a portion of Seventh Street near the intersection.
Personnel from Lumberton Rescue and EMS, Lumberton Fire Department and Lumberton Police Department were on the scene Wednesday afternoon.
William Warwick, who lives at the intersection, said its the worst crash he has seen in about four years. Warwick was not home during the time of the crash, but had to walk to his home from a nearby street because of roadblocks.
“It’s just a bad intersection,” Warwick said.
The stoplight at Seventh Street changes quickly, he said.
Seventh Street resident Peggy Jernigan said she was in her living room about 1 p.m. Wednesday when she heard sirens and saw emergency vehicles driving by her home. The wreck was the largest she had seen on her road, Jernigan said.
Reach Jessica Horne at 910-416-5165 or via email at [email protected].
