The NTSB said the wreck involved three tractor-trailers and two sport utility vehicles.
The crash happened on a stretch of I-95 northbound near Mile Marker 114.5 in Wilson County that was undergoing maintenance by NCDOT and a lane closure was in effect at the time, officials said.
The Highway Patrol said a 2020 Freightliner tractor-trailer hauling orange juice was traveling north on I-95 and failed to reduce speed as traffic slowed ahead. It crashed into the back of a 2013 Chevy Tahoe and then struck a 2017 Toyota Rav-4, a 2024 Kenworth tractor-trailer, and a 2014 International tractor-trailer.
The truck carrying orange juice eventually stopped in the northbound travel lanes and burst into flames.
The occupants of the Rav-4 were all killed. NCSHP identified them as driver Edward Carroll Davis, 68, of Greenville, front passenger Martha Warren Davis, 69, of Greenville, and rear passenger Linda Warren Whitehurst, 80, of Robersonville.
Two people in the Tahoe also died. Driver William Carroll Tucker, 72, of Hephzibah, Georgia, and front passenger Elizabeth Sharon Tucker, 66, of Hephzibah, Georgia.
The driver of the orange-juice truck, 51-year-old Charles Haskell, of Las Vegas, was treated for minor injuries at Wilson Medical Center. After being released, Haskell was arrested and charged with five counts of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. Haskell was taken to the Wilson County Detention Center and given a $25,000 secured bond.
Haskell drove for Double J Transport LLC. The company has no safety issues but Haskell does have two previous DUI charges. State troopers said that alcohol and/or drug impairment was not suspected in this crash but the preliminary investigation showed that speed was a factor.
The driver of the Kenworth truck, a 43-year-old man from Newberry, South Carolina, was treated for minor injuries at Wilson Medical Center.
The driver of the International big rig, a 52-year-old man from Princeton, North Carolina, was also treated at Wilson Medical Center for minor injuries
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Northbound traffic on I-95 was detoured around the crash scene at Exit 107 for about nine hours. All lanes have since reopened.