Truck driver was on his phone during I-95 crash that killed 5, NTSB says

The truck driver who plowed into the back of slowed traffic near a construction zone on Interstate 95 last summer, killing five people, was using his cellphone at the time, according to investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Charles Haskell of Las Vegas was headed north on I-95 near Kenly on July 24, 2024, when he received a text message, according to an NTSB report released this week. Less than a minute later, Haskell made a voice call.

Three seconds into the call, Haskell’s Freightliner tractor-trailer carrying a load of orange juice slammed into a line of cars and trucks at 70 mph. State Highway Patrol troopers determined that he did not brake before hitting a Chevy Tahoe, which was going an estimated 20 mph, setting off a chain-reaction crash involving two SUVs and two other tractor-trailers.

Haskell was charged with failure to reduce speed and five counts of misdemeanor death by vehicle. His case is still pending in Wilson County Superior Court.

The NTSB has not released its final report about the crash, which would include the likely cause. But it has released documents and records that investigators compiled over the last year that detail what Haskell did in the days leading up to the crash.

Haskell refused to speak to NTSB investigators. But they pieced together his activities using a variety of sources, including his truck’s electronic log and his cellphone records.

Haskell, who was 51 at the time of the crash, made a living as a long-haul trucker. In the month before the crash, he had crossed the country three times between California and Virginia, before heading to the Tropicana plant in Bradenton, Florida.

There he picked up a load of orange juice on the morning of July 23, 2024, and began the trip north to Jersey City, New Jersey, according to the NTSB. His progress was slow; he made eight stops, taking breaks that ranged from 5 to 139 minutes, before taking a long break in Florence, South Carolina, at 11:29 p.m.

Haskell didn’t begin driving again until 10:14 the next morning. His first stop was the Flying J Travel Center in Kenly, where he spent 35 minutes and bought 95 gallons of diesel fuel. He was on the road again at 1:13 p.m. and crashed nine minutes later, according to the NTSB.

Driver made heavy use of his cellphone

Haskell was frequently on his phone, both during breaks and while driving, according to the NTSB. Records show he made and received hundreds of texts and voice calls in the days leading up to the crash.

The text Haskell received just before the crash came from an unknown number, according to the NTSB. He then called a number with a 252 area code, which covers northeastern North Carolina, the direction he was headed.

That call was made at 1:22:26 p.m. Twenty-three seconds later, his iPhone called 911. Investigators say the 911 call was the result of an Apple feature that “automatically calls emergency personnel after a 20-second delay to report a detected crash.” That means Haskell had just finished making the 252 call when the crash occurred.

The report does not indicate if Haskell was holding the phone or it was mounted in some way. It does not say if he was using any sort of hands-free device. He was able to take the phone with him when he left the truck.

The NTSB also pieced together what it describes as “sleep opportunity periods,” when Haskell was not working and not on his cellphone. Investigators determined Haskell was on duty for 3 hours and 41 minutes on July 24, after a rest period of more than 10 hours. Accounting for phone use, he could have slept as much as 8 1/2 hours the day of the crash, according to the NTSB, though “the quality of any sleep during the available periods was not determined.”

State troopers who met with Haskell at the hospital said “he appeared ‘spaced out’ but did not otherwise notice signs of drug or alcohol influence,” according to the NTSB. Two blood samples taken that day tested negative for impairing substances, according to the report.

Five people killed in two SUVs

The crash occurred just before a construction zone in Wilson County. The left lane was closed ahead, and traffic had merged into the right lane and slowed.

When Haskell’s truck hit the Chevy Tahoe, it pushed it off the right side of the road. The collision killed the Tahoe’s driver, William Carroll Tucker, 72, and his wife, Elizabeth Sharon Tucker, 66, of Hephzibah, Georgia.

Haskell then hit a Toyota RAV-4, causing it to flip onto its roof. The driver, Edward Carroll Davis, 68, of Greenville, was killed, as were both of his passengers: his wife, Martha Warren Davis, 69, and her sister, Linda Warren Whitehurst, 80, of Robersonville.

Haskell then hit two other tractor-trailers, pushing one off the right side of the road. His own truck was on fire when it came to a stop 332 feet from where it had hit the Tahoe. Haskell was able to get out of his truck before it burned completely.

All three truck drivers, including Haskell, had minor injuries.