A Domino's Pizza tractor trailer collided with several other vehicles after the truck failed to stop at the intersection of Erwin Road and Research Drive Monday afternoon.
At least six cars and one pedestrian were hit in the accident, and five people--including graduate student Sandra Lucena--suffered minor to moderate injuries, according to the Durham and Duke police departments.
The driver of the truck, identified as John Crocker, Jr., 43, of Selma, N.C., was not injured but was charged with failing to reduce speed, said a Durham Police Department statement released late Monday night.
The accident occurred at about 4:24 p.m. when the 2001 tractor trailer, heading west on Erwin toward the intersection, was unable to stop at the red light and rear-ended a 1999 Saturn and a 1997 Toyota Corolla that were already stopped at the intersection, according to the statement.
The impact forced the Saturn to veer across the intersection into a 1986 Chevrolet Nova heading south toward Research Drive. It also forced the Toyota Corolla to
As the truck continued through the intersection, it ploughed into a 1984 Buick on Research turning left onto Erwin.
The truck and the Buick became wedged together, crashed into another 1999 Saturn heading east on Erwin and then skidded together about 170 feet before running into the brush and trees on the left-hand side of the road, the statement said.
"I remember a green light, turning left and suddenly a truck inches away from my face," said Lucena, a first-year graduate student in inorganic chemistry who was driving the Buick. "It hit some cars before hitting mine. I tried to escape but he got me anyway." Lucena suffered internal and neck injuries, as well as cuts and bruises. The statement said she was transported to the Medical Center.
Officer Anthony Rush of the Duke University Police Department said a middle-age female pedestrian was hit by one of the cars but was not seriously hurt.
The five injured drivers and passengers were transported to either the Medical Center or Durham Regional Hospital where they received treatment.
Two children--a four-month-old girl and a one-year-old boy--and a pregnant woman were involved in the accident. The one-year-old was not injured but the four-month-old sustained head and neck injuries and was taken to Durham Regional with her father, who suffered facial cuts and neck pain. The woman was not seriously injured but was taken to the hospital for precautionary measures, according to the police statement.
"These three cars were at the red light and the truck just came right through," said Jose Apolinaress, the woman's brother.
The speed limit near the intersection is 35 miles per hour.
Over a dozen emergency vehicles responded to the accident.
Both Erwin Road and Research Drive were blocked off near the accident, and traffic was diverted to other roads just as rush hour began around the Medical Center and the University's science research facilities.
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