Dump Truck Driver Accused of Killing 4 Duke Energy Workers Dies in Jail

EDEN, N.C. — The man accused of plowing a city dump truck through a stop sign and killing four Duke Energy contract workers is now dead himself.

The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Michael Ray Vernon, the driver charged in the deadly April 24, 2025 crash, died Sunday at the Raleigh Central Prison Hospital.

Vernon was being held under a safekeeping order while receiving medical treatment. His official cause of death has not yet been released.

Vernon was arrested back in November 2025 and charged with four counts of second-degree murder without regard and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting serious injury.

Investigators previously stated that Vernon allegedly failed to stop at the intersection of Church and Carroll Streets before crashing into a crew of six utility workers.

On April 24, 2025, contractors working on power lines in Eden were struck when a city-owned dump truck allegedly barreled through the intersection.

Four men were killed instantly. They were identified as:

• Douglas Garland Sides, 71, of Summerfield

• Madison Carter, 32, of Sandy Ridge

• William Evans, 35, of Randleman

• Matthew Lockwood, 30, of Winston-Salem

Lockwood, Evans, and Carter were employees of Carolina Power. Sides worked for Victory Powerline Services.

Two additional workers were injured but survived.

The investigation into Vernon’s death remains ongoing.