The driver in a crash that killed four Duke Energy employees in Eden earlier this year has now been indicted on murder charges. 66-year-old Michael Ray Vernon has now been indicted on four charges of second-degree murder and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.
The accident occurred on April 24th at the intersection of Church Street, Carroll Street and Park Road when the dump truck Vernon was driving ran a stop sign and hit several Duke Energy contractors.
The four men killed in the accident were:
- Douglas Garland Sides, of Summerfield, 72
- Madison Carter, of Sandy Ridge, 42
- William Evans, of Randleman, 35
- Matthew Lockwood, of Winston-Salem, 30
Three other people were injured in the accident. Vernon was initially charged with four counts of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, one count of failure to stop at a stop sign, and one count of operating a commercial motor vehicle without a valid commercial driver’s license.
Vernon was fired following the crash along with Public Works Operation Superintendent Elmer Curry.