Tractor-trailer overturns outside Rocky Mount

Battleboro, N.C. — State troopers believe the driver of an 18-wheeler fell asleep before his vehicle overturned on N.C. Highway 97, east of Rocky Mount.

The tractor-trailer slid off N.C. 97 and into a ditch near the Battleboro-Leggett Road around 2 a.m., troopers said.

The driver, Jerry O'Neal, 46, from Chesapeake, Va., was transported to Nash General Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

Neal was charged with reckless driving, troopers said.

N.C. 97 remained blocked for about six hours after the wreck.