8-year-old boy killed in Harnett County crash. Truck driver charged.
A tractor trailer rammed into the back of an SUV stopped at a red light in Harnett County Friday afternoon, killing an 8-year-old boy and seriously hurting two others, according to the N.C. State Highway Patrol.
At 3:33 p.m. state troopers responded to the intersection of N.C. Highway 24/87 at Olivia Road where a 2017 International tractor trailer driving north failed to reduce its speed and crashed into the rear of a 2026 Hyundai Palisade SUV, the State Highway Patrol said.
Such was the momentum of the tractor trailer that it pushed the Palisade across the intersection and into a third vehicle, a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe traveling south on NC-24/87, the State Highway Patrol said.
The boy in the Palisade was sitting in the back seat, the State Highway Patrol. He died at the scene. The Palisade’s driver and a 9-year-old girl sitting in the passenger seat were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The driver and two passengers in the Tahoe sustained minor injuries but were also taken to the hospital.
The driver of the tractor trailer, David Allen Cuellar, 63, of Lake Station, Indiana, was not injured. Cuellar was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle and failure to reduce speed, court records show. He is being held on a $5,000 bond.
The State Highway Patrol said its investigation is ongoing.
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