An early morning crash in southern Chapel Hill on Monday killed one person, according to police.

A release from the Chapel Hill Police Department said the crash happened along Fordham Boulevard near Columbia Street. The single-vehicle crash happened as a pickup truck was traveling in the westbound lane around 3:40 a.m. The driver struck a guardrail underneath the Columbia Street bridge and the impact sent the truck onto the eastbound lanes of Fordham Boulevard.

Police said it was the driver of the vehicle, 69-year-old Charles Joyner of Graham, that died.

Eastbound traffic on Fordham Boulevard was diverted to Columbia Street for several hours afterward as investigators examined the crash site. Police reopened the stretch of Fordham Boulevard to normal traffic patterns around 7 a.m.

Chapel Hill Police said late Monday morning the crash investigation is ongoing.


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