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GATES – The driver of a tractor-trailer was killed as the result of a two-vehicle accident near here Wednesday morning.

Michael A. Faulk, 41, of Suffolk, VA died at the scene of the accident, which occurred at around 5:42 a.m. on U.S. 13 near its intersection with N.C. 37 in Gates County.

North Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper M.I. Cherry stated that Faulk was operating a 2018 Freightliner southbound on U.S. 13. Meanwhile, a 2008 Toyota passenger car, driven by 36-year-old Adam Decosimo of Gates, was northbound.

Cherry said Decosimo’s vehicle traveled left of the centerline where it stuck the cab of the 18-wheeler. After impact, the tractor-trailer rolled onto its right side, coming to rest in a ditch. Cherry said Faulk was ejected and was pinned under the truck.

Decosimo was transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in critical condition.

The accident closed U.S. 13 for approximately two hours.

Trooper Cherry stated that charges are pending.

The fatal accident was the first of the year in the NCHP’s Troop A / District II area that includes Gates, Bertie, and Hertford counties.