Officials had to find a translator in order to understand the cause of a wreck in North Carolina recently after the Spanish-speaking truck driver overturned his rig, ripping open the trailer.
The incident happened on Thursday, April 5th at approximately 7:15 p.m. in Merry Hill, North Carolina.
According to the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald, the semi truck was traveling along US Highway 17 at Taylor’s Store Road when the big rig suddenly swerved to the right, then overcorrected, causing the big rig to tip over and land on its side.
Fortunately, no one was injured in the accident, but police had to employ the help of a translator to get to the bottom of the crash, as the unidentified truck driver spoke very little English.
“The driver was Latino and spoke very little English. Fortunately, a Hispanic family stopped at the scene and were able to help translate,” said Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jodey Sary.
“Through the translator, we learned that the driver said sunlight at sunset got in his eyes, temporarily blinding him. He swerved to the right off the road, then overcorrected, swerving back onto roadway, causing the vehicle to flip over on its side,” Sary continued.
Cleanup of the wrecked rig and scattered flower racks took around five hours, but the area has since been cleared.
It is not known what citations, if any, were issued to the truck driver pending an official North Carolina Highway Patrol accident report.
