Before the interstate highway system, Route 301 — which passed through Fayetteville, North Carolina — was a main transportation hub. According to the Fayetteville Observer, this road was nicknamed "Bloody 301" because of the numerous accidents that occurred on its winding aggregate.

The worst accident in Bloody 301's history occurred on June 6, 1957, when 41 migrant workers were traveling in the paneled back of a flatbed truck. According to the Daily Times News (via Gendisasters), the workers only had a canvas top to protect them.

The driver of the truck, 20-year-old Thomas Mackey, reached a stop sign at a Y intersection. However, Mackey did not stop and took a turn sharply to the right onto the 301, where he collided with a truck hauling potatoes. The impact caused the farm truck to burst into flames as the flatbed spun sidelong, flinging out its occupants. The roadway became littered with burning bodies. One first responder was quoted by the Fayetteville Observer as saying, "When we arrived, blood was running in the ditches." In total, 21 would die from what was, up to that point, the worst highway accident in American history (and is still the worst accident in North Carolina's history).

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