Trucker Arrested After I-40 Crash

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Ronald Graybeal

The driver of the tractor-trailer involved in yesterday's multi-vehicle crash on I-40 has been arrested on multiple charges. Three people died in the accident.

Ronald Eugene Graybeal has been charged with felony death by vehicle, two counts of misdemeanor death by vehicle, and possession of drugs. He also was charged with D-W-I for being under the influence of drugs.

Authorities say Graybeal was driving east on I-40 near 15-501 about 4 pm yesterday when he crashed into the back of a Ford F-250 truck, starting a chain reaction.

The three people who died have all been identified. They are: John Llanio of Kannapolis, Barbara Caldwell of Mebane, and Gary Dwayne Smith of Burlington.

Graybeal was not inured. He's in a Durham County jail on half-a-million-dollar bond.