Overturned truck carrying explosives causes day-long detour from U.S. 64 through Rocky Mount

Sources tell WRAL News that Jeremy Crews, 43, from West Virginia, was driving a tractor trailer full of explosives bound for a quarry through Rocky Mount on U.S. 64 when he took a turn too sharp and slipped off the road.

The crash happened just after 7 a.m.

Traffic was shut down in both directions through 1:30 p.m., when the westbound lanes reopened. The eastbound lanes reopened at 9 p.m. Friday, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Motorists headed east were forced to leave U.S. 64 and take U.S. 301 Business South/North Church Street to N.C. Highway 97 through Rocky Mount.

The truck, with the dusty, red payload spilled onto the ground, remained alongside the road, surrounded by hazmat crews.

Homes and businesses within a half-mile radius of the accident were evacuated.

Shirley Joyner was working at JD's Grocery and Grill on Atlantic Avenue when firefighters told her the business would have to close.

"I wasn’t that happy about it because I was working trying to make some money," she said. "But you gotta keep yourself safe because you never know."

Diesel fuel spilled out of the truck and some explosives were still inside the truck, authorities said.

"We’ve had additional resources to come in to assist us with mitigating this incident," said Kim Wittig, spokeswoman for the Rocky Mount Fire Department. "Many of them had to come from long distances, so it’s taken a while to get all the players here on scene. But everyone is on scene now and that mitigation process and cleanup process has begun."

The city of Rocky Mount established a command center and a private hazmat team oversaw the cleanup.