CONOVER, N.C. — A man was killed in a head-on crash involving a tractor-trailer Tuesday afternoon in Catawba County.
The collision happened around 12 p.m. on Highway 70 between Conover and Claremont.
Police told Channel 9 that a pickup truck crossed the centerline and collided with a tractor-trailer head-on. The tractor-trailer driver tried to avoid the truck, but only had seconds to react, according to investigators.
The driver of the pickup truck, 59-year old Virgil Burton, did not survive.
Breaking Conover- Highway 70 between Conover and Claremont is shutdown after reports of a head-on crash involving an eighteen wheeler. Watch channel 9 for updates. pic.twitter.com/A1brkSZNpE
— Dave Faherty (@FahertyWSOC9) July 27, 2021
Highway 70 was closed for hours as authorities investigated.
(WATCH: Second arrest made in street racing crash that killed 6-year-old boy)
©2021 Cox Media Group