A man was struck and killed on Interstate 85 North in China Grove late Tuesday night after getting into a physical fight with someone he was traveling with when their car ran out of gas on the shoulder, according to the Rowan County Sheriff's Office. Minutes later, as emergency crews worked to block traffic at the scene, a second driver rear-ended a responding China Grove Fire Department engine, sending that driver to the hospital with serious injuries.
Rowan County Communications received the initial 911 call reporting the vehicle-pedestrian collision at approximately 11:24 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Salisbury Post. The crash happened on I-85 North between Exit 68 and Exit 70, a stretch that runs past NC Highway 152 and Webb Road in Rowan County, per the same report. Investigators say the victim and another person were traveling together when their vehicle ran out of gas on the highway shoulder, according to deputies cited by WSOC-TV.
A Fight Preceded the Fatal Strike
The two got into a fight before the victim was struck by a passing vehicle, investigators told the station. Officers with the China Grove Police Department and troopers with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol were the first responders on scene and located the victim's body before handing the investigation to county sheriff's deputies, the Salisbury Post reports. Under North Carolina law enforcement protocol, sheriff's offices typically take over interstate scenes involving suspicious deaths or physical altercations, while State Highway Patrol usually retains sole control over standard traffic collisions — a jurisdictional shift the outlet says was triggered here by the fight preceding the fatal strike.
Lieutenant Ryan Barkley of the Rowan County Sheriff's Office has been designated to lead the death investigation. Authorities have not identified the victim, withholding his name pending family notification, and the article notes that no charges have been filed against anyone as of Wednesday. Anyone with information is asked to call the Rowan County Sheriff's Office at 704-216-8711.
Fire Engine Struck While Blocking Traffic
While emergency crews were working to block traffic at the fatality scene, a second driver rear-ended a responding China Grove Fire Department engine on I-85 North, according to WCNC. That driver suffered serious injuries and was taken to the hospital, WSOC-TV reports. WCNC's report notes the driver reportedly admitted to looking down at a phone and changing radio stations just before the crash.
North Carolina's move-over law, General Statute § 20-157, requires drivers approaching stopped emergency or service vehicles with flashing lights to change lanes or slow down, according to Raleigh Traffic Ticket Lawyer. A violation carries a mandatory $250 fine that doubles to $500 if it causes property damage or injury, and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle is classified as a Class 2 misdemeanor under state law. Whether the second driver will face a move-over violation remains an open question, as does whether charges will be filed against the person involved in the fight that preceded the fatal strike.
A Corridor With a History of Close Calls
The stretch of I-85 between Exits 68 and 70 was widened to eight lanes as part of an NCDOT project completed in 2020 that also reconfigured Exit 68 at NC Highway 152 into a dumbbell interchange, according to AARoads. Exit 68 serves as a major regional connector between China Grove and Rockwell. Responding to interstate emergencies has proven dangerous for local crews before — a China Grove Fire Department engine overturned along I-85 South in September 2020 while responding to a traffic wreck, according to WSOC-TV's earlier reporting.
Nationwide, pedestrian fatalities fell 7% in 2025 to 6,732 deaths, according to preliminary data from the Governors Highway Safety Association, though the total remains 5% above 2019 pre-pandemic levels. North Carolina Department of Transportation crash analyses show a disproportionate share of pedestrian deaths occur on high-speed arterial corridors and interstates with speed limits of 35 mph or higher, where fast-moving traffic and a lack of pedestrian infrastructure raise the odds a collision proves fatal — a risk starkly illustrated by Tuesday's chain of events on I-85.
