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UPDATED TUESDAY with charges filed by NC Highway Patrol

AULANDER – NC Highway 11 just north of the NC 305 intersection reopened early Tuesday morning following a Monday afternoon accident involving two commercial vehicles, one of which caught fire.

The wreck occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m. at the railroad crossing on NC 11. There was one reported injury.

North Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper H.M. Mizelle reported that Glenn Brabble, age 49 of Colerain, was operating a propane delivery truck, owned by Sharp Energy. Brabble’s vehicle was northbound on NC 11 and had stopped, as required for safety reasons by a truck transporting flammable material, at the railroad crossing.

At that time, a tractor-trailer, operated by 38-year-old Javon Elliott of Suffolk, VA, was also northbound and stuck the propane truck in the rear. The propane truck overturned and caught fire. Brabble managed to escape, but was injured and transported to ECU Health Roanoke-Chowan Hospital.

Elliott, who was not injured, was charged by Trooper Mizelle with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Thick black smoke filled the rain-soaked air as emergency responders sealed off the area. Several local fire departments along with the Highway Patrol, Bertie Sheriff’s Office, Bertie EMS, and Emergency Management officials from both Bertie and Hertford counties were on the scene.

Bertie Emergency Services Director John Rawls summoned a state Haz Mat team.

“They provide the resources necessary in a situation involving hazardous materials,” Rawls said. “They monitor the air and help contain any leakage of materials. They get the scene to a manageable point where clean up efforts can begin.”

Rawls added that following an inspection by North Carolina DOT, both lanes of NC 11 reopened at 1:10 a.m. Tuesday. He said a damage assessment to the railroad is scheduled during daylight hours on Tuesday.

Bertie Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin said his staff helped with traffic control as motorists were rerouted along NC 11 Business that took them through downtown Aulander.

“There was a lot of traffic coming through town, including the commercial trucks that frequently use highway 11,” Ruffin stated. “But it worked well, communication wise, between all the agencies. We were able to keep the traffic flowing.”