Trooper R.P. Dennis of the state Highway Patrol said it is believed texting caused Kenneth Wayne Turner, 44, to veer left of the center line and side swipe a trash truck in the southbound lane of Fire Tower Road.

Forty-five minutes before the crash on Fire Tower Road, Turner had been cited by another trooper for failure to maintain lane control, driving with a suspended license and texting after he drove his car into a ditch on Highway 48, Dennis said. The Highway 48 crash caused no injury to Turner or the vehicle he was driving.

After the vehicle was removed, Turner was instructed by the trooper to stay where he was until somebody came and picked him up. After the trooper left he failed to comply with instructions and drove away.

Dennis received the call of the crash on Fire Tower Road shortly after 7:30 a.m.

The collision with the trash truck, Dennis said, caused the drivers door to Turner's 1993 Mustang to cave in. The car then ran off the road to the right, struck a ditch and then came to a rest.

Turner was taken to Halifax Regional Medical Center where he died.