Crash shuts down U.S. 74 near Shelby for hours

SHELBY, N.C. — U.S. 74 near Shelby was shut down for most of the day Monday after a fiery crash involving five vehicles.

A few people heard the collision and rushed to try to rescue the people involved and put out the flames.

“There was nothing we could do to get it to go down,” said witness Corey Ferree, who works nearby.

He and others tried using a fire extinguisher.

“It would go down for a second and spark right back up,” Ferree said.

The truck driver, George Hope, 60, died in the crash.

Six others walked away from the charred mess, including a woman and her grandchild, who is only a few months old.

A woman in a box truck involved in the crash suffered a hip injury.  Passersby helped her out.

A couple from Monroe was headed to Montana for vacation when the crash happened. They made it out with non-life-threatening injuries.

“We tried to find out if everybody was out, and they were all trying to get out of the way,” Ferree said.

He and others with him weren’t sure if anyone was in a burning truck, but they fought just in case for as long as they could.

“When we saw that it wasn't going to (go) out, we had to back up because stuff started to pop and we didn't know what it was,” Ferree said.

Firefighters said the popping came from canisters of pesticides that were in a trailer hauled by a truck.

Minutes later, the witnesses realized there was someone still in the truck.

“It was heartbreaking,” Ferree said.

Investigators spent the day trying to determine what caused the crash. They know all five vehicles were headed west on Highway 74.

WSOC