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A man was killed on the morning of May 17, 2010 while he stood on the side of an exit ramp waiting for the pickup truck he’d been riding in to be removed from the mud.

Torrential rains Sunday night and Monday morning in the piedmont of North Carolina near Winston-Salem contributed to perilous driving conditions on area highways. Two vehicles ran off the road and got stuck in the mud at the same location—an exit ramp from U.S. 311 to westbound Interstate 40—though they had not been involved in a collision with one another.

Passengers and drivers from the two vehicles were outside the automobiles waiting for a tow truck and its driver to pull the stranded vehicles from the thick mud when a tractor-trailer approached. The driver of the three-axle truck lost control of the massive vehicle and crashed into both of the stuck cars, the tow truck and three of the four individuals who were on the scene.

According to Winston-Salem police sergeant, Keith Redmon, in an article from myfox8.com, “The best we can tell right now is a truck came around the corner, did not see them out there, tried to stop, tried to avoid, slid off the road, collided with two vehicles and collided with three pedestrians.”

One man died instantly while two more were transported to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and Forsyth Medical Center suffering serious but not life-threatening injuries.

The accident might seem freakish and unusual, but motorists should always keep in mind how dangerous exit ramps to and from highway roads are at all times and under any conditions. Exit ramps are often used as places to park a vehicle if and when it breaks down, the gas runs out or a trooper pulls a speeder. But any motorist who uses an exit ramp on foot should remain extra vigilant and prepared for any unforeseen, unfortunate circumstance.

The Triad community’s thoughts go out to the victim’s family and we continue to hope for a speedy recovery of the two men injured in this accident.

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