LENOIR, N.C. – A community in Caldwell County is mourning the loss of a retired firefighter who was tragically killed in one of two separate, but related deadly collisions.

Gary Sanders was killed when his motorcycle rear-ended a tractor-trailer at around 7:30 a.m. Saturday. The incident happened on Interstate 40 in Iredell County.

Sanders was a 30-year veteran of the Lenoir Fire Department. His son, Jake, said on Facebook that his dad loved riding his Harley.

This accident occurred in backed up traffic caused by another accident that happened three hours earlier. In that incident, the North Carolina Highway Patrol says a car crossed the median and slammed into a tractor-trailer near the Sharon School Road exit.

Troopers say that truck overturned in the median. The driver of that 18-wheeler was killed and a name has not been released.

 

 

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