Commercial Vehicle Accident Injury Attorneys in Rocky Mount, NC

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How gas prices have changed in Rocky Mount in the last week

Gas prices have gone up by about 9 cents per gallon since this time last month but are still down by nearly 50 cents compared to this time last year. The national average fuel price is about $3.17, with Abilene, Texas, seeing the cheapest metro-area prices at $2.54 and Salinas, California, with the most expensive at $5.17.

After issuing multiple pauses on tariffs against Canadian and Mexican imports since taking office, President Trump in early April announced a sweeping 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the U.S., with many countries facing even steeper duties, though oil and gas imports are exempted from new tariffs. On April 9, the White House announced a three-month pause on all "reciprocal" tariffs (except against China), but the baseline 10% tariffs will remain in place.

Jolted by the impact of the tariff announcement, the stock market plummeted on April 3, with U.S. oil prices dropping 7%. The double-whammy of lower prices and higher costs for crucial materials like steel pipes may have a major impact on domestic oil and gas production. Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced this month that it would increase production to help stabilize the market.

Expecting market volatility, GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan thinks it is possible that gas prices have already reached their peak in 2025, which typically happens around mid-April each year.

"After oil's sharp drop over the last couple of weeks—driven by concerns over the impact of U.S. tariffs and OPEC+ restoring production faster than expected—gasoline prices have posted a notable weekly decline, with nearly every state seeing prices fall," De Haan said in a statement this week. "While I do expect gas prices to continue trending lower, any abrupt change in the current tariff situation could eventually bring the decline to a halt."

Stacker compiled statistics on gas prices in Rocky Mount, NC metro area using data from AAA. Gas prices are current as of April 17.

Rocky Mount by the numbers- Gas current price: $2.78--- North Carolina average: $2.86- Week change: -$0.14 (-4.7%)- Year change: -$0.62 (-18.2%)- Historical expensive gas price: $4.68 (6/12/22)

- Diesel current price: $3.50- Week change: -$0.06 (-1.6%)- Year change: -$0.49 (-12.4%)- Historical expensive diesel price: $5.83 (6/11/22)

Metros with the most expensive gas#1. Salinas, CA: $5.17#2. Napa, CA: $5.15#3. Santa Rosa, CA: $5.13

Metros with the least expensive gas#1. Abilene, TX: $2.54#2. Laredo, TX: $2.54#3. Cleveland, TN: $2.55

This story features writing by Tim Bruns and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 371 metros.

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A lottery player is in for a big windfall after hitting the jackpot in North Carolina.

The player bought a Carolina Cash 5 ticket that matched all the numbers picked in the April 18 drawing, making it worth $319,149, results show.

The winning numbers: 2-20-21-22-41.

So, where was the ticket sold?

The winner bought it at a Circle K convenience store on Sunset Avenue in Rocky Mount, a roughly 60-mile drive northeast from Raleigh, the N.C. Education Lottery wrote on its website and in an email to McClatchy News.

A lucky NC Lottery player with a Cash 5 ticket from Circle K on Sunset Avenue in Rocky Mount won a $319,149 jackpot in Friday's drawing! Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/AMlkkoZsLo

— NC Education Lottery (@nclottery) April 21, 2025

Cash 5 is a rolling jackpot game that offers tickets starting at $1. To win a jackpot prize, a player’s ticket must match all the numbers picked in a drawing.

As of 10 a.m. April 21, the lucky ticket holder hadn’t claimed the prize, lottery officials said. In North Carolina, winners of drawing games have about six months to cash in, rules show.

The Cash 5 win kicked off a lucky weekend for North Carolina lottery players. On April 19, two tickets sold in the state won big in the Powerball drawing, McClatchy News reported.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WITN) - A Rocky Mount man was sentenced to over 18 years in prison for robbing multiple businesses.

According to the Nash County Sheriff’s Office, Friday, 23-year-old Kaleb Coppage was sentenced to 218 months in prison.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, on November 30th, 2023, Coppage entered the Dollar General at 2800 W. Raleigh Boulevard in Rocky Mount wearing a facemask. He pointed an AR-style pistol at an employee and demanded money.

After stealing more than $2,800 from the store’s safe and cash registers, officials say Coppage ran away.

A little over a week later, on December 8th, officials say Coppage entered the Circle K at 5102 Dortches Boulevard in Rocky Mount, again wearing a facemask, and pointed an AR-style pistol at an employee and demanded cash.

The employee gave Coppage around $60 in a shopping bag which also contained a GPS tracker. The Nash County Sheriff’s Office followed the coordinates on the tracker and found Coppage in a stolen car.

When they attempted to do a traffic stop, officials say Coppage drove away and led law enforcement on a chase that exceeded 120 mph in a 45-mph zone. Coppage ultimately hit another car and then ran away.

Law enforcement say they found the AR-style pistol, which was stolen, in the car Coppage had been driving. Upon further investigation, the sheriff’s office discovered that Coppage was on probation and monitored by an ankle bracelet. Through the ankle monitor, officers confirmed that Coppage was present at both the Dollar General and Circle K at the time of these robberies.

Upon arrest, officials say Coppage admitted to the robberies and admitted that he stole the vehicle in which he fled from the Circle K. Nash County officials say Coppage pled guilty to the charges on September 30th, 2024.

“Violently robbing our places of business terrorizes our communities and is a serious federal offense with significant consequences,” Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar stated Friday. “Today’s sentence demonstrates that we will continue to work tirelessly with our partners to stamp out gun violence.”

Copyright 2025 WITN. All rights reserved.

More than 12 people were injured when the storm slammed our region back in September.

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WTVD) -- Today marks six months after a devastating tornado tore through Rocky Mount causing major damage.

More than 12 people were injured when the storm slammed our region back in September.

Six months later and business owners are trying to rebuild, others have relocated.

ABC11 stopped by Pretty Essentials, a women's boutique that supports breast cancer survivors.

The owner, Keisha Justice, was inside the building when the powerful tornado touched down.

The storm and the damage to the boutique forced her to shut down her business for three months, eventually finding a temporary space.

Now she is preparing to move back into her boutique space.

ABC11 was with her as she saw the renovations to the building.

"This is my very first time being back in the building. Everything looks so fresh. Everything looks very fresh and ready to reenter into the building. But yeah, this is exciting because it is my very first time being back into what I call home," Justice said.

She plans to move back into her original space in a few weeks.

Rocky Mount Interim City Manager Peter Varney said the tornado was a "surprise and devastating" but added that if there was a silver lining, it was the quick response of emergency crews, who also faced a similar catastrophe last year when a tornado destroyed a large Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in Nash County.

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More than 12 people were injured when the storm slammed our region back in September.

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WTVD) -- It's been six months since an EF-3 tornado touched down in Rocky Mount and destroyed a number of businesses on or around US-301.

Glass and cinderblock that were tossed are lodged in the ground, the Hing Ta Restaurant is fenced off and boarded up, and an auto repair shop and medical supply building have both been leveled.

There's no word on what comes next for the business, but there is progress in other nearby areas.

Work at a dental office just started this past Monday.

"It's been a lot of waiting," said Chris Long of Long Home Repair. "We've been working with the bank on this one for six months now. We were actually getting ready to just start doing a renovation on this property when the tornado came through, and we had to start all over again."

On that day, Long was working on another job in Rocky Mount as the winds started kicking up, and soon, the tornado touched down right near where he was working.

"I was worried to death about that one. I wasn't even thinking about this one," said Long.

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Repairs are also nearly finished at a shopping center.

Small businesses are excited to reopen their doors in a few weeks after living through the storm and dealing with the financial setback.

"Those four months that I did not have, it was hard for me," said Pretty Essential Owner Keisha Justice.

The Rocky Mount community has experienced two back-to-back tornadoes. The first one hit the Pzifer plant in 2023.

The City said in both cases, crews responded quickly, and residents did their part to uplift those suffering.

"I don't know what it's like anywhere else, but my experience in this place is a very generous people with people with big hearts and willing to open up their pocketbooks and their churches and their spaces to try to help other people in need," said Rocky Mount City Manager Petery Varney.

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