Troopers ID Rolesville family of four killed in multi-vehicle crash on I-85

WARREN COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Four members of a Wake County family are dead after a four-vehicle crash on I-85, officials said and a truck driver is facing charges.

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The crash happened about 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

A husband, wife, and two children, all from Rolesville, were traveling south on I-85 in a 2018 Ford Explorer when a four-car wreck involving a tractor-trailer ensued in Warren County.

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Officials said all four family members in the Explorer were killed.

On Thursday, the State Highway Patrol identified the victims as Linda Jowers, 47, who was driving, Timothy Jowers, 47, and their children, Brianna Jowers, 10, and Alexander Jowers, 8, all of Rolesville

Traffic was already stopped on the highway for another wreck when the driver of a J.B. Hunt tractor-trailer slammed into the back of the family's SUV, pushing it into a 2015 Ford Van and then underneath another 18-wheeler.

There were also four non-life-threatening injuries that resulted from the crash.

A passenger in the J.B. Hunt big rig, Raymond Kelley, 60, of Hardy, Virginia, was life-flighted to Duke Hospital. The driver, who was treated at a hospital for serious injuries and later released, has been identified as James Pratt, 55, of Goodview, Virginia.

Pratt is charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle and reckless driving.

The driver of the van, Michael James Williamson, 60, of Raleigh, received serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the other 18-wheeler, Willie Earl Black, 66, of Newport News, Virginia, suffered minor injuries.

Authorities investigating had the road shut down for eight hours after the wreck.