All northbound lanes of I-77 near Gilead Road in Huntersville were closed after a vehicle overturned. One person was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries, according to medic.
The crash was reported by WCNC, which reported that an overturned vehicle blocked all northbound lanes on I-77 North near Gilead Road, causing a closure in Huntersville.
Fire Crews Initially Found No One at the Scene
An account from the Huntersville Fire Department describes a stranger wrinkle to the crash. Station 1 and Cornelius Fire responded to a single vehicle that had gone into the woods near Exit 23, or Gilead Road, and had overturned, according to the department's account posted at huntersvillefd.com. After searching the immediate crash area, responders reported finding no patients there at all.
The department's account goes on to say that police later located the vehicle's single occupant roughly a mile and a half from the crash site, after the person was picked up by a passerby on I-77. It's a detail that underscores just how chaotic the scene must have been for first responders combing the woods along the interstate before locating the person involved.
Not the First Rollover Near This Stretch of I-77
Gilead Road and the surrounding stretch of I-77 in Huntersville has seen its share of crash disruptions before, though the available reporting doesn't tie those incidents together as part of any broader pattern. In a separate rollover on I-77 South near the same exit, a wreck around 2:20 p.m. on a Wednesday, April 15, temporarily blocked the express lane and the northbound express lanes, as reported by Queen City News. Medic confirmed with that outlet that one person was seriously injured in that crash, and the area was projected to stay closed until at least 3:20 p.m.
Another crash in February 2024 also left a vehicle overturned in the woods along I-77 in Huntersville. In that incident, firefighters could not find a driver even after an extensive search of the scene, including inside and under the car, according to WBTV. A separate, less serious crash on I-77 South just north of Gilead Road was reported around 6 p.m. on a Jan. 2, closing general-purpose lanes for roughly 30 minutes with no injuries reported, per Queen City News.
For now, the cause of Sunday's crash and the full details of how the vehicle's occupant ended up a mile and a half from the wreckage remain unclear. Drivers heading north on I-77 through Huntersville should expect lingering delays as crews continue working the scene near Gilead Road.
