Moped Driver Run Over By Log Truck

A Smithfield man was killed after his moped collided with a fully loaded log truck Thursday afternoon on Highway 70 at Oak Street . Witnesses said the moped, driven by 58-year-old Pedro Franco Ramirez of Buffalo Road , was traveling westbound, but weaving in the roadway, when a tractor trailer driven by Alton Hoges, 49, of Washington , NC , also traveling westbound, tried to pass him. As the truck was passing the moped, witnesses told police the moped swerved into the trailer just in front of the rear tires. The witness, who checked Ramirez for a pulse, said she detected a strong odor of alcohol on his body. Smithfield Police are still investigating the accident and haven’t ruled out the possibility of charges.