Authorities said the tractor-trailer and a white minivan were southbound on I-95, southwest of Micro, when the van moved into the truck's path. The truck's driver swerved to avoid hitting the van.
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"I never saw him at all," said the van's driver, Frances Jonas. "I looked out the side window, and I could see him going up, but that was it."
The truck went up a 30-foot embankment, flew over an overpass road and crashed into trees on the other side, authorities said.
The truck driver, Randall Spickler of Pennsylvania, was hauling a load of cabbage to Florida. The force of the accident ripped the back wheels off his trailer and damaged the side of the bridge.
Spickler was taken to a local hospital, then flown to UNC Hospitals. Troopers say his injuries are serious, but not life-threatening.
Jonas, her mother and daughter were also headed toward Florida. They weren't injured, but they won't soon forget their journey through Johnston County.
"We're all pretty shook up over it," she said. "I've never been in an accident in all my life. It was scary."
Jonas has been charged with reckless driving.
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