Man dies after recliner falls off trailer on highway

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- The man who was killed in a three-car wreck on northbound U.S. 421 Wednesday after a recliner fell off a trailer and onto the highway has been identified.

The wreck happened at about 10:30 a.m. at mile marker 246, west of Lewisville.

Troopers say a black truck was towing a trailer with a recliner on it when the recliner fell off the trailer and onto the highway.

The driver of a red truck saw the chair in the road and stopped. A van rear-ended the red truck, skidded off the road and overturned.

The driver of the van, identified as 53-year-old Robert Long, died as a result of the crash, according to Trooper Dewey Hamby.

After the van hit the truck, a woman driving a car also hit the red truck. The woman, identified as 35-year-old Jessica Houston, of Yadkinville, and her two children in her vehicle were taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Houston suffered several broken bones and multiple fractures. The children were treated for minor injuries.

The driver of the pickup truck, Leonel Palacios, 57, and passenger, Wallace Compton, 47, were treated for neck and back injuries.

Troopers say the driver who lost the recliner returned to the scene to pick up the chair, but saw all the accidents happening and took off.

Authorities are currently searching for the person who owned the recliner and are asking the public to speak up if they know anything.

The person with the recliner could face a misdemeanor failure to secure load charge, among other charges.

Anyone with information on the wreck can call Highway Patrol at (336) 761-2441.

Information from The Associated Press and WGHP was used in this report.