A 20-year-old Harrells woman died Sunday morning after her pickup truck collided head-on with a tanker truck on U.S. 421 near Bestwood Lane, igniting fires that triggered a hazmat response and evacuations across the Rose Hill community in Sampson County. Breezy A. Hernandez was pronounced dead at the scene, while the tanker driver was hospitalized with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
The crash happened just after 7:35 a.m. when Hernandez's Toyota pickup and a tractor-trailer tanker collided head-on, according to CBS 17. The tanker driver, a 30-year-old Leland man, was taken to Sampson Regional Hospital, the station reported. Both vehicles caught fire following the impact, and The News & Observer reported the blaze set off an active emergency response and road closures along the highway.
Accounts of what the tanker was hauling differ. WRAL reported the freightliner was loaded with methane gas, while WCTI12 described the cargo as methanol. A security director with Quality Carriers told WRAL that the cargo tank remained intact and that no methanol was released during the incident.
Flames Doused Within the Hour
Firefighters had the flames out by 8:37 a.m., according to the same WRAL report. The Sampson County hazmat team responded to the scene, and the fire produced heavy, billowing smoke that was visible for miles, per the station's account. No official cause of the fire had been released as of Sunday.
As a precaution, residents within a half-mile radius of the crash were evacuated from their homes and businesses, WRAL reported. Most of those restrictions were lifted around 1:45 p.m., but the outlet noted that residents on Perry Drive, Virginia Drive and Kilby Drive remained under evacuation orders. The News & Observer reported that evacuations for those three communities near Clinton continued as a precaution, with residents told to stay outside the area until crews could safely remove the gas from the trailer and move it away from the scene.
Shelter and Road Closures Remain in Place
Displaced residents still under the evacuation order could seek temporary shelter at the Taylors Bridge Fire Department, located at 6825 Taylors Bridge Highway in Clinton, according to WCTI12 and The News & Observer. U.S. 421 remained closed Sunday with no timeline given for reopening, WRAL reported. Dawson McLamb urged motorists to completely avoid the affected stretch of U.S. 421 near Bestwood Lane and use alternate routes, per The News & Observer, a message echoed by WCTI12's report urging drivers to steer clear of the area.
Sampson County Emergency Services said it would release additional updates on cleanup efforts and the status of evacuation orders as the situation develops. A separate report from JoCo Report, citing the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, placed the crash near River Road at 7:37 a.m. and said authorities reported the tanker's methane remained contained and did not burn. That outlet also reported the State Hazardous Materials Response Team was called to the scene, and that the investigation into the crash was continuing.
