The wreck that brought traffic to a standstill on I-40 last week caused a secondary wreck that resulted in the death of a former Davie High student.

According to N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper K.L. Leonard, around 2:45 p.m. March 10, traffic was stopped in the eastbound lane between Mocksville and Farmington, due to an earlier accident at Cedar Creek beyond the Farmington Road exit.

Allison Danielle Anderson, 21, was driving a 2012 Honda Civic about 70 mph, when she failed to notice a Ford Econoline van had slowed to about 10 mph in front of her.

Leonard said her car struck the back of the van, going up under the van. The van then spun around, with Anderson’s car attached to it, and struck a third vehicle that was stopped, a 2001 Ford Mustang driven by Fausto Sander-Zorrilla, 48, of Winston-Salem. Sander-Zorrilla was not injured, Leonard said.

The driver of the van, Connor Davis, 20, of Archdale, suffered minor injuries. All involved were wearing seat belts.

Leonard said Anderson was pinned in the wreckage, and responders from the Davie County Rescue Squad, Center Fire Department, and others worked to free her. She was transported to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, where she died from her injuries.

There were two dogs in the car with her, one of which was injured.

“Distracted driving was probably a factor,” Leonard said.

Anderson attended Davie High but graduated from Western Harnett High School in Lillington in 2012. She was a senior at Campbell University.

Damage to the Civic was estimated by Leonard to be about $8,000, a total loss; to the van, $5,000 and to the Mustang $1,200.

The initial accident involved a 2016 Freightliner box truck, according to NC Highway Patrol Trooper A.T. Doss, who was dispatched to the accident around 2 p.m.

The six-tire, two-axle truck, which delivers floor covering, was empty. It was driven by Joshua Ray Moran, 23, of Asheboro.

According to eyewitnesses, Moran was traveling in the left eastbound lane, then veered to the right, before traveling back to the left. The truck then hit the guardrail, riding along top of it, before hitting the bridge railing and also traveling along the rail. It then plunged, nose first, off the bridge and into the embankment, where it rolled on its side. Doss said a small amount of diesel fuel leaked from the truck into Cedar Creek, and Hazmat was called to the scene to deal with that.

Doss said although there was water in the creek, the orientation of the truck kept Moran from coming into contact with the water.

Smith Grove Fire Department and other first responders were at the scene, as well as several other troopers, Doss said. Many of them left the scene to assist Leonard with the secondary accident.

Moran was wearing a seat belt, was not speeding, and neither drugs nor alcohol were thought to be factors in the accident, nor was the weather, as it was a sunny, dry day. Doss said a cell phone was found near Moran but that no search warrant had been issued to try to determine if he was using the phone illegally at the time.

Moran was charged with failure to maintain lane control.

He suffered several broken bones and bruising from the air bags and was transported by ambulance to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

The accident closed down both eastbound lanes for hours, and people could be observed standing outside their vehicles on the gridlocked highway, talking and watching emergency crews. Traffic was diverted onto local roads and highways but the vehicles right behind the accident and to the east of Farmington Road were “just stuck,” Doss said.

The medical center’s emergency helicopter was initially called to transport Moran, but was then diverted to attend to Anderson.

Damage to the box truck was estimated to be about $50,000, a total loss.

Doss said while he knows Moran “has a long road to recovery, he is lucky to be alive.”