Man killed in crash on way to work had just dropped child off at day care, NC cops say

A North Carolina driver took a child to day care and was heading to work before dying in a crash, officials said.

The N.C. State Highway Patrol said a pickup truck was stopped at an intersection outside Charlotte when an SUV hit it from behind. The SUV then “continued accelerating,” crossed to the other side of the road and ran into a tree on Thursday, Aug. 18, Trooper Ray Pierce told McClatchy News in a phone interview.

The SUV driver died at the scene from crash-related injuries. State troopers identified him as 37-year-old Joshua Matthew Mullins, as The Gaston Gazette reported earlier.

Officials reported being called at about 7:30 a.m. to the Gaston County crash site. The wreck happened near Hickory Grove and Lane roads, roughly 15 miles northwest of Charlotte.

At the scene, highway patrol said it didn’t find signs that Mullins had used his brakes or swerved before he struck the tree, which was several yards from where his SUV left the road. The 37-year-old’s relatives reported he experienced seizures in the past.

“We’re assuming that he was unconscious at the time or having some type of medical emergency,” Pierce told McClatchy News.

No one else was hurt in the crash that killed Mullins, who was a Gastonia resident.

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