North Carolina state troopers in Burke County are asking for the public鈥檚 help finding a tractor-trailer suspected of hitting and killing a man on Interstate 40 early Wednesday.
Troopers were called to Interstate 40 westbound near Enola Road (Exit 104) around聽9:20 a.m. for a man lying in a ditch, said Trooper D.R. Lane with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
The man, identified as 25-year-old Alfredo Hernandez-Son, of Morganton, was pronounced dead at the scene. Troopers determined he had been hit by a tractor-trailer that left the scene, Lane said.
Troopers are searching for a 2018 or newer Freightliner Cascadia tractor-trailer that is missing its right front headlight assembly. The tractor-trailer is expected to have right front bumper and hood damage, according to a release from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
Hernandez-Son had been released from jail around 3:20 a.m. Wednesday after he was arrested early Tuesday morning for second-degree trespassing, Lane said.
Around 4 a.m., a driver reported a man walking in the middle of Interstate 40 near where the crash happened. Officers went out to the area but didn鈥檛 see anyone walking in the road or on the shoulder. Officers cleared the call at 4:22 a.m., Lane said.
It was around 9:20 a.m. when a passerby saw Hernandez-Son lying in the ditch and called it in, Lane said. His body was about 30 feet off the road.
Anyone who may have been involved or saw something in the area between 4 a.m. and 9:25 a.m. should call 828-466-5500.
The incident remains under investigation.