WILKES COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A truck driver died after he was forced to swerve and crashed on U.S. 421 in Wilkes County, according to North Carolina State Highway Patrol. At about 12:18 p.m. on Saturday, troopers responded to the fatal crash on U.S. 421 at the 270-mile marker. According to Highway Patrol, a white Freightliner dump truck was heading east in the right lane of U.S. 421, near the Dennyville Road exit.
Another vehicle tried to merge onto the highway, causing the driver of the Freightliner to swerve to avoid a collision. The truck ran off the road to the left and hit a guardrail and the end of a bridge before coming to a rest on Dennyville Road. The driver of the truck, 48-year-old Alberto Maya Benitez, of Yadkinville, died at the scene. Troopers say the dump truck was a non-commercial vehicle.
Highway Patrol will contact the district attorney's office regarding any possible charges against the surviving driver.