ROWAN COUNTY — The out-of-county motorist killed as a result of Monday’s Statesville Boulevard collision has been identified.

Eugene Laughridge, of Morganton, was confirmed by a spokesperson for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol as the lone victim of the wreck. Laughridge was operating a Subaru passenger car, when he was struck by a 2013 Ford pickup truck. 

The driver of the truck, Jeffery Antonitis of Holden Beach, was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle.

The collision occurred shortly after 1 p.m. Both vehicles were heading east near the 6800 block of Statesville Boulevard. According to reports from the scene, the pickup truck exited the roadway where it collided with the Subaru, which was on the shoulder of the highway. 

“That car (the Subaru) may or may not have been in motion,” a highway patrol sergeant on the scene said. “I don’t see much evidence that shows (they) were rolling, but I know he was on the right shoulder. If he was doing anything, it was 0-5 (mph).”

After initial inspections on the scene were completed, the sergeant said that it was unclear what caused Antonitis to lose control of the road, adding that further investigation should yield some type of explanation. 

The driver of the pickup truck did not suffer any severe injuries. According to a person on the scene familiar with the truck driver, the latter was not from Rowan County either, but in town for a contractual painting job. 

As is protocol in DOA cases, the driver of the pickup truck will have to provide a blood sample to law enforcement.

The collision prompted the N.C. Department of Transportation to shut the road down to through traffic, while the highway patrol concluded its investigation.