SHELBY, N.C. (WBTV) – A tractor-trailer slammed into a hotel in Cleveland County on Thursday morning, right off a major highway.

The crash happened at the Comfort Inn along East Dixon Boulevard at East Marion Street.

Officials at the scene said the tractor-trailer was coming up East Dixon Boulevard — which is Highway 74 — when it lost control, hit two cars and eventually barreled into the Comfort Inn.

The truck’s cab was left embedded in the hotel and the lumber it was hauling was scattered around the yard.

People staying inside said the crash sounded like a bomb going off and that the building was evacuated soon after.

“I was amazed, more so surprised it was a truck because you wouldn’t expect a truck to be hitting your hotel at five-o-clock in the morning,” one man said. “It’s very shocking. I’ve never seen something like that before in my life.”

The truck driver was not hurt, nor was anyone inside the hotel. Two people from the cars, though, were taken to the hospital but were expected to be OK.

A few pictures of the crash aftermath are below.

A tractor-trailer crashed into a Comfort Inn in Shelby on Thursday, May 29.(WBTV)A tractor-trailer crashed into a Comfort Inn in Shelby on Thursday, May 29.(WBTV)A tractor-trailer crashed into a Comfort Inn in Shelby on Thursday, May 29.(WBTV)

Also Read: ‘Smoky odor’ forces Delta airplane to make unplanned stop in Charlotte, airline says

Watch continuous news coverage here:

Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.