BENSON, NC — June 26, 2026 — A violent head-on collision between a passenger vehicle and a cement truck Friday morning left one person dead and a truck driver hospitalized with life-threatening injuries outside of Benson in Johnston County.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP) reports the crash occurred at approximately 7:10 a.m. on U.S. Highway 301, near the Interstate 40 overpass. A 2017 GMC Terrain traveling northbound veered into oncoming traffic and struck a 2022 Western Star cement truck head-on.
The impact forced the cement truck off the roadway and into a ditch, where it subsequently caught fire. The truck was being operated by Raymond Miles, 43, of Leland. He was transported to WakeMed for treatment of life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the GMC Terrain, a 49-year-old man from Lumberton, did not survive the crash. His identity has not been publicly released.
Authorities have opened an investigation into the circumstances that led to the collision.
