The sheriff's office said 52-year-old Joseph Stanley Wagner, of Clayton, was on his motorcycle on US 70 in Smithfield when a tractor-trailer pulled out from the Amazon facility into his path about 2 a.m.
Authorities said 32-year-old Kamha Kohnoh John Smith, of Lithonia, Georgia, was arrested Monday in Florence, South Carolina, and charged with felony hit and run resulting in death.
They said he was operating that semi-truck for a third-party transporter out of Atlanta and was hired to transport freight from the Amazon warehouse in Smithfield but was not an Amazon employee.
The State Highway Patrol said Wagner was thrown off his bike in that collision where the trucker left the scene.
Smith is in custody awaiting extradition to North Carolina.
Wagner was very involved in the Smithfield community and was a founding member of the nonprofit organization Help Thy Neighbor Johnston County
"I still haven't processed it. I don't think any of us have," said Betsy Lewis, one of Wagner's close friends and a fellow founding member of Help Thy Neighbor Johnston County.
Help Thy Neighbor started in 2018 as a group of friends who loved to ride motorcycles together looking for ways to give back. Lewis and Wagner worked hand-in-hand for the last six years giving back to people in need throughout Johnston County through fundraising.
"If I had to give a definition of a pillar in the community, it would be Joe Wagner," she said.
Lewis said Wagner was one of the most dependable members the nonprofit had and was loved by everyone who met him. She spent the day with Wagner's family after the devastating news emerged, and said he had children. He was also a grandfather.
"And as far as the reach he had in the community, it was, it was untouched by anyone else I know, to be honest with you," Lewis said.
She said it's hard to imagine a future at the nonprofit without the man with the boisterous personality that she's remembering for his dedication and caring heart.
"He got things done," Lewis said. "We didn't have to worry about anything. If he said he had it, he had it. And he's going to be missed."
Lewis said Help Thy Neighbor is already working on a plan to memorialize Wagner and that will likely start with a memorial ride they hope to make a tradition in years to come.
ABC11 has reached out to Amazon for comment but has not yet heard back.