Fifth person dies after three-vehicle accident in Fayetteville
Emergency teams remove the injured from the wreckage.
Updated 1 hr 43 mins ago
FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- Five people are dead and three others were injured in a three-vehicle accident in Fayetteville on Wednesday night, said Fayetteville Police Chief Harold Medlock. Four died in the crash. The fifth passed away Thursday morning.
"This is the worst crash I have ever seen in my career," Medlock said.
WATCH: ABC11 raw video from the scene
The Fayetteville Police Department said the deadly crash happened shortly after 8 p.m. on Cliffdale Road near Lynhurst Drive, near Skibo Road.
All lanes on Cliffdale Road between Windemere Drive and Lansdowne Road had to be closed for several hours until emergency crews were able to clear the area.
Eyewitnesses said they saw a motorcycle, but there wasn't one at the accident scene.
Officers are investigating the crash and are looking into whether there was some sort of altercation before the crash.
"It's just so early ... we have detectives all over the city trying to piece all of this together ... you can't make sense of this," Medlock said - referring to the complexity of the accident. "The best I could tell you is that what we have been told is that there may have been an altercation shortly before this occurred. We're still trying to figure out if these vehicles were involved in that altercation."
The names of the deceased are being withheld until officers are able to contact next of kin. Medlock said the victims appeared to be "young," perhaps in their late teens or early 20s.
Anyone with information concerning the fatal crash is asked to contact the Fayetteville Police Department's Traffic Unit at (910) 433-1830 or Crimestoppers at (910) 483-TIPS (8477).
Crimestoppers information can also be submitted online by completing the anonymous online tip sheet or by text-a-tip on your mobile device by sending a message to 274637 (in the text box type "4Tip" followed by your message).