WOODLAND – An early morning accident near here Tuesday has left a Sanford man in critical condition.

Adkins, 58, was operating a forklift, unloading bricks from a parked 18-wheeler on the Menola-St. Johns Road (RP 1141) at approximately 6 a.m.

The rig, parked in the northbound lane of RP 1141, was owned by Triangle Brick of Durham, the employer of Adkins.

As Adkins was in the process of unloading the bricks, Leon Lassiter, 54, of Woodland was operating a 1995 Ford passenger car in the southbound lane of RP 1141.

According to a report filed by Trooper Nick Harrison of the North Carolina Highway Patrol office in Ahoskie, Lassiter failed to see the forklift in time enough to avoid the accident. Harrison said although the lights on the parked tractor-trailer were operating at the time of the accident, it was dark in and around the trailer area.

Adkins, who was ejected from the forklift upon impact, was seriously injured. He was transported to Roanoke-Chowan Hospital in Ahoskie and later airlifted to Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville where he remains in critical condition.

Lassiter suffered minor injuries.

No charges have been filed in the accident.