Mon Jan 09 at 11:25 hours by FireNews.net
ROBESON COUNTY – A Robeson County fire chief was killed Sunday in a wreck on Interstate 74 East while responding to an accident, according to the state Highway Patrol.
Samuel Butler, 52, of 11577 U.S. 74 in Maxton, was trying to make a U-turn in his 1993 Toyota Camry at the end of the on-ramp from the Cabinet Shop Road exit on I-74 when his vehicle was struck by an eastbound tractor-trailer just before 10 p.m., according to a report by Trooper M.J. Miles.
Butler, who was not wearing a seat belt, died on impact, he said.
Butler was chief of the Evans Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department in Maxton, and president of the Robeson County Fireman’s Association.
Miles said Butler was trying to reach an accident in the westbound lane at the same exit. The tractor-trailer was traveling about 60 mph when it struck Butler’s vehicle, Miles said. The speed limit in that area is 70 mph.
The driver of the truck, 37-year-old Robert Barrett of Malden, Mass., was not injured and will not face charges. He was wearing a seat belt.
No information was available on the accident that Butler was responding to.
WRAL – MAXTON, N.C. — A Robeson County volunteer firefighter died Sunday in a wreck on eastbound Interstate 74 while trying to respond to another accident in the westbound lanes, investigators with the state Highway Patrol said.
Authorities say Samuel Butler, 52, of Maxton, was trying to make a U-turn at the end of a ramp on I-74 just before 11 p.m. when his Toyota Camry was T-boned by a tractor-trailer traveling east.
Butler, who was not wearing a seat belt, died on impact, officials said.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, 37-year-old Robert Barrett, of Massachusetts, was not hurt. He will not face charges in the wreck.
Butler was the chief of the Evans Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department, 3440 Elrod Road in Maxton. He also served as the president of the Robeson County Firemen’s Association.
- Web Editor: Derek Medlin