Five-car accident snarls traffic on N.C. 43; four people injured

Four people went to the hospital today  and midday traffic backed up several miles toward New Bern on N.C. 43 after an accident involving five vehicles in a construction zone near Spring Garden Road.

Workers were repaving parts of N.C. 43 north of New Bern and had traffic stopped on both sides of the road. Traffic was further slowed after the accident happened in the southbound lane.

A construction worker with a flag had stopped four cars heading south on N.C. 43, but a fifth car did not stop when it entered the zone, said Trooper R.A. Woods of the N.C. Highway Patrol.

The driver of the fifth car, Stefan Hill of New Bern, hit the car in front of him and caused each car in line to hit the one in front, Woods said.

"He said he looked away, looked back and didn't stop in time," he said. "He's been charged with failure to reduce speed. He needs to be careful everywhere, but he should have been especially careful in a work zone."

Several of the other drivers involved in the accident said a construction worker was also to blame for the crash. One of the drivers, a man who identified himself only as Leo, said a prison inmate waving an orange flag was not paying attention when Hill entered the construction zone.

"The man had his flag rolled up and was casual," Leo said. "He was leaning against a pole and wasn't watching. All I heard was a screech, which I guess was the back car's  brakes going hard."

Leo lives in Vanceboro and was on his way to work at Wal-Mart in New Bern. He said his car was full of gas before the accident, and he was glad the crash did not puncture his fuel tank. He said he thought he would be stiff today but had no injuries.

Woods, the state trooper, said the four people who went to Craven Regional Medical Center had minor injuries. Because of the paving work, traffic remained slow after the damaged cars were moved from the road.