Search resumes Tuesday for driver of truck that went into the Neuse River early Sunday
Divers have resumed the search for the driver of a tractor-trailer truck that was found submerged in the Neuse River near Kinston early Sunday morning.
The truck went through a guardrail on the U.S. 70/258 bypass sometime overnight Saturday. A passerby noticed the missing guardrail and debris on the road and called 911 at about 4 a.m. Sunday.
By Monday morning, the truck’s cab had been pulled from the river, but the driver was not inside, said Keith Acree, spokesman for the state Department of Emergency Management. Acree said the cab’s front windshield was “smashed out, so it’s possible the driver had gone out the windshield.”
Two days of searching, using divers and boats, failed to find the driver. The effort resumes Tuesday.
The box truck belonged to a contractor for the U.S. Postal Service and was empty when it went into the river, Acree said. He said authorities know who was assigned to drive the truck that night but are not releasing the name while the search continues.
Meanwhile, the bypass highway, which was closed in both directions, reopened to traffic shortly after noon Monday.
The truck was going westbound when it crashed through the railing along the left lane and fell between the twin spans that carry the road across the river. The N.C. Department of Transportation says one westbound lane will remain closed until the guardrail can be replaced, probably by the end of the week.
This story was originally published December 10, 2018 at 10:57 AM.
