Driver of Concrete Truck Sentenced to One Day in Fatal Crash

Truck hit a Jeep, whose driver died several days later.

Oct. 2, 2025

4 min read

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By: Lexi Solomon
Source: The News & Observer (Raleigh) (TNS)

A Raleigh driver with more than 10 driving-related convictions who fatally struck a Durham man’s Jeep with a cement truck last year will spend only one day in jail.

Wayne Lamont McNeil, 47, pleaded guilty June 25 to misdemeanor death by vehicle in the midday Oct. 3, 2024, crash on the Durham Freeway.

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Bryan Lail, 39, was seriously injured in the accident, in which Lail’s Jeep was rear-ended by the cement truck McNeil was driving. He died several days later after being declared brain-dead, according to social media posts by his mother.

Durham County District Court Judge Kevin E. Jones sentenced McNeil on Monday to one day in jail and two years of supervised probation, court documents show. If McNeil violates the terms of his sentence, he’ll serve 150 days in Durham’s misdemeanant confinement program.

The sentencing range for a Class A1 misdemeanor like misdemeanor death by vehicle is 60 days for someone with no prior convictions to 150 days for someone with five or more prior convictions, according to state sentencing guidelines. That puts McNeil’s suspended sentence within the standard range under state law.

McNeil must also complete 250 hours of community service at a nonprofit of his choice and attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving Victim Impact Panel, his sentencing states.

What happened in the collision

The crash occurred when the Chandler Concrete cement mixer truck McNeil was driving struck Lail’s Jeep after Lail stopped to avoid hitting the car in front of him, according to a civil complaint filed by Lail’s father. The truck hit Lail’s vehicle at 52 mph, the traffic citation states.

McNeil allegedly did not have a commercial driver’s license at the time of the wreck, according to the citation; such licenses are required to drive vehicles as large as cement mixers, the state DMV website says.

Court records show McNeil has pleaded guilty 10 times to a driving-related infractions and citations, including five convictions on charges of driving with a revoked license between 2006 and 2013. Months before the crash, he’d pleaded guilty to speeding 80 mph in a 55 mph zone in Durham in March 2023.

A petition to limit McNeil’s driving privileges was filed in Durham County in July 2013, but court records don’t indicate what became of it.

Victim’s father filed lawsuit

Lail’s father sued Chandler Concrete Co. and McNeil weeks after the crash, alleging the company failed to properly train McNeil. Dash cam footage from the concrete truck reportedly showed McNeill looking out the driver’s side window “for an extended period of time,” not at the road, before striking Lail’s Jeep, according to the complaint.

In a Feb. 13, 2025, deposition, McNeil testified that Chandler Concrete taught him it was appropriate to look away from traffic and at his mirrors for three to five seconds before he needed to look back at traffic, the complaint states. The company denied that claim, but in a separate deposition, a corporate representative testified Chandler Concrete “had no written training material or video training material” addressing the typical industry standard, which is 2 seconds.

The civil suit is set for trial in December, according to court records.

Gaming enthusiast who loved his dogs

Lail, who described himself as a “gaming enthusiast,” had worked for Lenovo since January 2020 and graduated from Appalachian State University in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in English, according to his LinkedIn profile. A native of Morganton, he had lived in Durham for a decade and enjoyed sports, travel, cooking, hiking and working out, his obituary stated.

“He will forever be remembered for his zest for life, family, and friends, sense of humor, and love of everything ‘Panthers,’” the obituary stated. “He was a compassionate friend to ‘many’ and was loved dearly in return.”

Lail is survived by his parents, brother, uncle and dogs Watson and Charlie, according to his obituary. His family could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

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