Truck delivering N&O hits Chapel Hill house

The driver of a U-Haul truck delivering The News & Observer this morning was cited for careless and reckless driving after the vehicle struck a rental house on North Roberson Street in Chapel Hill.

Chapel Hill police officer Jared Greenlee said Richard Hallett Ray, 33, of Chapel Hill was driving too fast when he lost control of the truck on a rainy Sunday just before 8 a.m.

The truck damaged three properties, plowing through a fence at one home and taking out Christmas decorations at another before crashing into the front porch of a single-story house at 225 N. Roberson St.

Greenlee said the porch and foundation of the home took the brunt of the damage. The two renters inside were not hurt.

Ray suffered bumps and scrapes in the accident, but a passenger, Larry Johnson Edwards, 59, of Chapel Hill, suffered a broken leg, Greenlee said. Both were taken to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill.

Greenlee said Ray told him he had rented a U-Haul to deliver the newspapers because his normal vehicle was being repaired. Greenlee said Ray told him he may have been distracted by attempting to bag a newspaper in plastic as he drove.

"He said this was just the last delivery of his day," Greenlee said.

Jim Puryear, The N&O's vice president for circulation, said Ray is an independent contractor who has been delivering the newspaper for roughly three months. Puryear disputed that Ray was delivering newspapers at the time of the accident because Roberson Street is not a part of his regular route.