UPDATE (May 1, 2025): Recent reports have been released in the news which state that the person who had been behind the wheel of the dump truck in this accident did not have a valid Commercial Driver License. Also according to these recent reports, the charges recommended against the driver by authorities are failing to stop at a stop sign, operating a commercial vehicle without a valid Commercial Driver License, along with four misdemeanor counts of death by motor vehicle. No additional details are available at this point in time. The investigation remains underway.

Rockingham County, NC — April 24, 2025, Douglas Sides, Madison Carter, William Evans, and Matthew Lockwood were killed and three others were injured in a dump truck accident just before 1:30 p.m. along Carroll Street.

According to authorities, a 66-year-old man was traveling in a northbound dump truck on Carroll Street at the Church Street intersection when the accident took place.

Officials indicate that, for as yet unknown reasons, the dump truck failed to stop for a stop sign, entering the intersection and apparently striking six pedestrian workers who had been working on powerlines. The truck reportedly continued forward after striking the pedestrians, crashing into a bucket truck occupied by one person before veering off of the side of the road and coming to a stop in a ditch.

Reports state that of the six pedestrians struck, four suffered fatal injuries: 72-year-old Douglas Sides, 42-year-old Madison Carter, 35-year-old William Evans, and 30-year-old Matthew Lockwood. The two pedestrians who survived were transported to local medical facilities by EMS in order to receive immediate treatment for life-threatening injuries. The person from the bucket truck and the man from the dump truck both sustained non-life-threatening injuries, as well, and were also taken to medical facilities for care.

Authorities have recommended charges of stop sign violation and misdemeanor death against the man who had been behind the wheel of the dump truck. Additional details pertaining to this incident are not available at this point in time. The investigation is currently ongoing.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

In my experience, the combination of heavy equipment, roadside workers, and intersection traffic creates a scenario where there is absolutely no room for error. When a driver behind the wheel of a dump truck fails to stop at a clearly marked sign and plows through a work crew—killing four people and injuring several more—the public often asks how something this extreme could happen. With the recent revelation that the driver didn’t even have a valid Commercial Driver License (CDL), the picture becomes much clearer—and much more disturbing.

A CDL isn’t just a bureaucratic requirement. It’s proof that a driver has received specialized training and testing to safely operate a vehicle that, in the wrong hands, can cause catastrophic harm. Commercial vehicles like dump trucks handle differently than passenger cars, take longer to stop, and require a level of skill that unlicensed drivers simply haven’t demonstrated. When a driver doesn’t have that license, it raises a host of questions—not just about the individual’s conduct, but about the company or contractor that put them in that seat in the first place.

If the dump truck was being used for work purposes, then the responsibility doesn’t stop with the driver. Whoever owned, dispatched, or employed that driver had a duty to verify that he was properly credentialed. Failing to do so isn’t just careless—it’s a breach of a legal and moral obligation to protect not only the public, but also the very workers who lost their lives in this wreck. It suggests systemic failures in hiring, oversight, and safety culture that go far beyond the moment the driver ran a stop sign.

From where I sit, a crash like this is not just a matter of driver error. It reflects a breakdown at every level of responsibility—from the driver who shouldn’t have been behind the wheel to whoever allowed it to happen. A full investigation should uncover each link in that chain, because only then can the right parties be held accountable and those affected by this wreck receive the clarity and closure they deserve.