25-year-old man arrested after fleeing the scene of deadly I-40 tractor-trailer crash

A 25-year-old man has been arrested for fleeing the scene of a deadly tractor-trailer crash on Interstate 40 Tuesday morning.

Cristhian Cespedesarias of Clinton was booked Wednesday at the Johnston County jail for the incident on I-40 West that killed Roy Ward.

Family members said Ward had gotten out of his car to check on a truck carrying an oversized load.

Authorities say Cespedesarias, who fled the scene, was not supposed to be behind the wheel because his license was revoked after a DWI.

He is currently in jail and under a $100K bond.

The crash, which involved two tractor-trailers, closed all westbound lanes of I-40 in Johnston County before 8:30 a.m. at Mile Marker 318 and N.C. Highway 210, near Benson.

All westbound lanes were closed until around 3 p.m.

Family members told WRAL News Roy Ward, from Leland, was driving a pilot car responsible for escorting a tractor-trailer carrying a concrete beam. They said Ward got out of his car to check on the tractor-trailer, which broke down and pulled over to the right shoulder on I-40 West when he was hit.

According to the family, Ward got out of his car to check on the concrete beam when the truck he was escorting pulled over on the side of the road.

Ward was on right side of the beam, his family said, and within a matter of seconds, another tractor trailer hit the truck. Family said the truck's radiator came flying off the truck and hit and killed Ward.

"He was outside checking on the beam, cause the truck broke down, and the driver that hit him didn’t pay attention and went all the way over off the road," said Shannon Ward, Roy Ward's nephew.

Ward described his uncle as a "fun, energetic, straight-to-the-point person," saying he loved farming and life in general.

"He embraced every minute of life he could," Ward said.

Sky 5 flew over the scene before 9 a.m., where two tractor-trailers were blocking all westbound lanes. The front of one truck was significantly damaged.

Witnesses at the scene told WRAL News a tractor-trailer was traveling westbound in a left lane when it merged into a right lane, hitting the other tractor trailer parked on the shoulder of the road.

Witnesses said a man standing outside the parked tractor-trailer was hit and died at the scene despite CPR and lifesaving efforts.

Witnesses also said one of the truck drivers left the scene in a pickup truck.

The other truck driver and a passenger were uninjured, they said.

WRAL News is awaiting a statement from the State Highway Patrol.