The crash happened on US 421 at the intersection with Mount Gilead Church Road just 7 miles south of Clinton. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP) said the driver of a 2007 Toyota Tacoma failed to stop at a stop sign and drove into the path of a tractor-trailer.
Troopers said the impact of the tractor-trailer forced the Toyota more than 200 feet off the road and into a ditch. The tractor-trailer then also went off the road into a ditch.
Authorities said the driver of the tractor-trailer, William James Brinson Jr., 60, of Kenansville, was not injured.
The driver of the Toyota, Bivino Velasquez Morales, 41, of Cary, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Troopers said alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the crash.