Highway 11 reopens after propane truck collision

AULANDER, N.C. (WNCT) — On Monday in Bertie County, a portion of Highway 11 near Aulander was closed after a mid-day crash. A propane truck went up in flames, but now Highway 11 has reopened.

Javon Elliot, 35, rear-ended a propane truck. The propane truck turned over, catching on fire. The driver was able to get out safely and received care from ECU Health/ Ahoskie. He sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, “Elliott was charged with failure to reduce speed.”

Firetrucks and law enforcement vehicles were heavily active at the scene and were going door-to-door alerting citizens of the crash.

There was no call for an evacuation.

“A notification has been done for a possible evacuation. We’ll know further once our resources let us know the aftermath of the collision, so once we know, we’ll let the citizens of this town know,” Bertie County Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin said.

There is no timeline at this time for when the road will be back open.

“We do have a road closure at this time,” Sheriff Ruffin said. “We do not know how long that road closure will be, it could be an extended time.”

As for now, the Sheriff’s Office is asking drivers to proceed with caution and follow all road signs.

“For precaution, pay attention to the traffic cones that have been placed as road closures, and that’s what we ask you to do, just pay attention to the road closures.”

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