Carolina Personal Injury News

Forest Tech Killed By Flying Debris On I-40 In Davie County, NC

Highway debris can be dangerous and even deadly – a lesson that was all too real this week in Davie County, North Carolina. A foreign object was kicked up into the windshield of a car this weekend and was ultimately responsible for the death of a well-known North Carolina resident.

While driving along Interstate 40 on Saturday, 59-year-old William Alexander “Alex” Williamson, a local forester, was involved in a deadly “freak” accident. A three-foot wide aluminum disk flew into the windshield of the SUV Williamson was driving and struck the man in the head before landing in the back seat.

When the car accident occurred, the passenger in the back seat dialed 911 while Williamson’s sister-in-law, Martha Williamson, took the wheel. At the time of the NC car accident, the car was traveling 70 miles per hour and on cruise control. Martha was able to bring the car safely to a stop after five miles. The two passengers in the car suffered minor injuries.

When emergency responders arrived, Williamson was transported to Davis Regional Medical Center in Statesville and then to Carolina Baptist Hospital before he died of his head injuries.

He worked for the Virginia Department of Forestry for 35 years.

North Carolina police are investigating the car accident. They say that marks on the metal disk lead them to believe that the object fell off of a truck and onto the highway and was then kicked up into the SUV’s windshield. Improperly tied loads can often lead to debris falling onto the interstate and then injuring or killing other drivers.

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About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law. We maintain office in Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC), on East Elizabeth Street, and we have handled thousands of cases in which victims got hurt or killed in car, truck, train and motorcycle crashes caused by others' negligence or carelessness.

We serve every area of North Carolina, including Elizabeth City, Edenton, Raleigh, Durham, Rocky Mount, Roanoke Rapids, Greensboro, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Halifax, Northampton,  Greenville, Goldsboro, Havelock, Kinston, New Bern, Tarboro, Wilson, Ahoskie, Currituck, Camden and the Outer Banks towns of Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Manteo, Corolla, Currituck and Dare. In South Carolina, we cover the state from Myrtle Beach and Charleston to Orangeburg, Columbia, Florence, Rock Hill, Darlington, Aiken, Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg.

Firm attorneys Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008 and the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. In addition, our firm has been named a North Carolina "Best Law Firm" for personal injury law since 2010 by U.S. News & World Report.

We also offer free special reports on distracted driving and the Best Guide to Car Accident Injuries in North Carolina. 

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer free initial confidential injury case consultations. Call us toll-free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail so we can get back to you.