09/22/2026
Today, one of our heavy-haul tractors experienced a serious fire while transporting an excavator. Thankfully, our driver was able to get out safely, and the lowboy trailer and excavator were not damaged by the fire.
We’ve seen the photos, videos, comments, and plenty of opinions circulating on social media, particularly questions about why the excavator wasn’t unloaded.
Here’s the reality:
The tractor lost power moments after entering the highway from Carl Garner Road and would not restart. The driver smelled smoke and got out to look. He immediately noticed flames and the fire grew extremely large and intensely hot in a very short period of time. At that point, our driver’s responsibility was to get himself away from the truck and stay safe—not attempt to save equipment (or his personal belongings and car keys still in the cab.) 😬
The excavator was properly secured to the lowboy with chains and binders. Attempting to remain beside a rapidly burning tractor to release those securements would have unnecessarily placed our driver in danger. Even if the excavator could have been released, the disabled tractor could not simply be driven away from the trailer, and attempting to unload and walk an excavator off a lowboy on an active highway with backed up traffic and low visibility due to the smoke, would have created additional and unnecessary hazards.
We are incredibly thankful that our driver is safe, that no motorists or first responders were injured, and that the trailer and our customer’s excavator were spared. We also appreciate the firefighters and emergency personnel who responded and worked in extremely hot and dangerous conditions to bring the fire under control quickly. 🙏
There will always be people watching a video or looking at a photo afterward who have ideas about what “should have” been done. Our priority in an active emergency will always be the same: protect human life first. Equipment can be repaired or replaced. People cannot.
And since we have everyone’s attention…
It’s GRAY’S Towing.
Not Grey’s.
Not Gary’s.
GRAY’S. 😉
To our customers: there is no need to worry about any interruption in our transport services. This tractor and lowboy were just one of five trucks and trailers in our heavy-haul fleet, so we remain fully operational and ready to keep your equipment moving. Whether you need construction equipment, excavators, loaders, machinery, or other heavy equipment transported, Gray’s Towing continues to provide equipment hauling throughout Eastern North Carolina and beyond. Today’s loss won’t slow us down! The truck will be replaced in a jiffy, and there will be no downtime in our operation.
Thank you to everyone who reached out today to make sure our driver and crew were okay, and thank you to our loyal customers who continue to trust Gray's Towing.