Driver charged after truck crashes on closed washed out road
The driver of a pickup truck that crashed into a hole in a road caused by recent storms has been charged with DWI and driving on a closed highway, the North Carolina Highway Patrol said.
Posted — UpdatedVictor Rochelle, 41, was charged with driving while impaired and driving on a closed highway.
Rochelle was driving to a store with his brother, Antoine Rochelle, to get food.
A friend, Azya Alston, followed them for safety because she knew they were going down a closed road.
Rolesville Fire Chief Rodney Privette said the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames when crews arrived around 11:30 p.m. Victor Rochelle and Antoine Rochelle were found injured and lying in shallow water in Penny Hill Lake.
Antoine Rochelle was taken to Jaycee Burn Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. SHP said he had a fractured skill, a fractured back and burns.
Victor Rochelle was taken to WakeMed in Raleigh with back and leg injuries and burns.
Both were still in the hospital Wednesday morning.
Alston also suffered minor burns after jumping into the lake to help rescue the men. She was also taken to WakeMed.
“The road closed barriers were up," Privette said. "They must have drove around them or got around them. They have them up on both ends of the washout, and they went around them and just drove straight into the washed out area.”
Authorities said the pickup truck plunged into the hole at a high speed.
After the washout, Mitchell Mill Road was estimated to reopen July 30.
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