Driver killed in tractor-trailer crash on I-40 near Benson

A Wade man was killed Wednesday after being submerged in water when the tractor-trailer he was driving crashed on Interstate 40, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said Thursday.

Troopers said Steve Allen Williams, 47, was heading east on the highway about 2:15 p.m. when he traveled into the median, struck a guard wire and crossed into the westbound lane at mile marker 329, near Benson.

The truck then jackknifed, ran off the left side of the highway and overturned in a ditch. The driver was still in his seat belt, with his head submerged under water, when responding troopers found him.

The trailer was carrying concrete blocks, which were scattered onto the westbound shoulder of I-40, troopers said.