Trucker and toddler die as tractor-trailer hits car, burns

LUMBERTON, N.C. – The North Carolina Highway Patrol says a trucker and a toddler have died after a tractor-trailer carrying chemicals overturned and hit a car.

Troopers told local news outlets that the crash happened just north of Lumberton on Thursday after the east-bound tractor trailer ran off the road, then returned to the pavement, crossed the centre line and began to overturn as it hit a small westbound car. The truck then caught fire, trapping its driver.

A man and woman were in the car with the 1-year-old child, but the patrol didn’t know if they were the parents. No identities have been released.

The patrol also said no chemicals were spilled.