FROM STAFF REPORTS

The N.C. State Highway Patrol announced that no charges will be filed in connection with a crash that claimed the life of a Hiddenite man on Sunday afternoon.

Anthony Drake Villeda, 30, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which happened about 4:10 p.m. Sunday in Iredell County on U.S. Highway 64 near Lippard Farm Road, the NCSHP said in a news release.

The crash occurred when Villeda, who was driving a 2005 Ford F-250, attempted to pass westbound vehicles in a no-passing zone on Highway 64 and collided with an eastbound 2025 Peterbilt semi-truck without a trailer, troopers reported.

A juvenile passenger in Villeda’s vehicle was not injured.

The driver of the Peterbilt, identified as Christopher Wesley Vowell, 54, of Hiddenite, was not injured, troopers said.

The initial investigation indicates careless and reckless driving contributed to the collision, according to the NCSHP. No charges will be filed.

Highway 64 was closed in the area of the crash for about two hours.

Personnel from the West Iredell Fire Department, Iredell County Rescue Squad and Iredell County EMS responded to the scene.