DUPLIN COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – A truck driver is dead after a crash on I-40 Sunday night near Wallace.
A spokesperson with UNCW confirmed that 19-year-old Raylee Grieco from Raleigh, the driver charged in the crash, is a first-year student and athlete at the college.
“UNCW can confirm that Raylee Josephine Grieco is a current first-year student. Her major is undecided. She currently is on the roster for the women’s track and field team. The university is in the process of gathering more information about this unfortunate situation,” UNCW wrote in a statement.
According to Trooper Jamie Duff with the NC State Highway Patrol, a truck driven by 31-year-old Mildo Velasquez from Willard was hauling a trailer with his wife and sister-in-law following behind him in another car.
The trailer de-hitched from the truck, but it was still attached by the chains, and Velasquez and his family exited their vehicles to fix the issue.
That’s when, according to Duff, Grieco was driving eastbound nearby and failed to slow down, hitting the family’s car.
The car then slammed into the truck and the trailer, killing Velasquez while he was standing beside it.
Grieco was charged with driving while impaired and with failure to reduce speed.
District Attorney Ernie Lee told WECT that no additional charges have been filed as of Tuesday morning, and that the crash is still under investigation.
“The defendant has been charged and served by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol with driving while impaired and failure to reduce speed,” Lee said. “The NCSHP has remained in contact with my office and is actively investigating the death as to other possible charges.”
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