Car carrying two N.C. State students crashes into fire truck

Morrisville, N.C. — Two North Carolina State University students were involved in a crash Saturday morning when their car hit the back of a parked fire truck that was responding to a vehicle fire on Interstate 40 east near Aviation Parkway.

The driver, Aubrey Marett, 21, and passenger, Kristen Carter, 29, sustained non life-threatening injuries, Morrisville Public Information Officer Stacie Galloway said. They were traveling at about 65 mph. and neither woman was wearing a seat belt.

No firefighters were injured.

Emergency crews shut down all but one lane of I-40 near the crash, which happened around 4:30 a.m., Galloway said.

“When the (Morrisville Fire Department) responds to accidents on I-40, the first engine on scene starts incident mitigation and the second engine parks further back from the scene to act as a traffic calming device,” according to Fire Chief Todd Wright. “Cones are placed even further back from the scene.”

The women’s car hit the cones at full speed and did not brake before hitting the fire truck, officials said. The car was totaled and the fire truck sustained cosmetic damage, Wright said.

Both women were taken to Duke Hospital.

Charges are pending, Galloway said.