Two I-40 lanes to remain closed

Two people, including an eight-year-old boy, remain in serious condition after an accident on Interstate 40 on Friday that killed one person.

In addition, troopers said today that the driver whose vehicle started the chain-reaction wreck should not have been on the road in the first place. Robert Klimczak, 22, of Fuquay-Varina, had a suspended license, said state Highway Patrol Trooper John Collins, who is investigating the accident. Klimczak was taken to WakeMed with non-serious injuries, Collins said.

Klimczak was driving a black Dodge pick-up that collided with a red Chevrolet pick-up, which then hit a tractor-trailer while traveling westbound on I-40 near Airport Boulevard at about 1 p.m. The tractor-trailer then went though the guardrail into eastbound traffic, where it hit a Dodge Neon. A Nissan Altima and another Dodge pick-up then collided with the tractor-trailer, followed by an explosion that torched the three vehicles.

The driver of the second Dodge pick-up, Nemeth F. Sanders, 43, of Bailey, was killed at the scene. The driver of the tractor-trailer, James Hastings Jr, 58, of Mebane is in stable but very serious condition at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill.

Hannah Wyatt, 19, of Statesville, was driving the Dodge Neon and was taken to Duke University Hospital. Wyatt, who is five months pregnant, had cuts and bruises but no serious injuries. Her nephew, Luke Harris, 8, was also in the Neon and suffered many broken bones. He had surgery this morning, Collins said.

Steven Hargrove, 40, of Raleigh was driving the Nissan Altima and was treated and released from WakeMed.

Michael Lassiter, 56, of Burlington, was driving the Chevrolet and was not injured.

Investigators will spend the next few weeks examining the vehicles, going over witness statements and road markings before deciding if any more charges should be filed, Collins said.

Two eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 will remain closed near Raleigh-Durham International Airport until late this afternoon as crews work to repair damage from the crash, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Eastbound I-40 remains slow near Airport Boulevard. All westbound lanes are open.