SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. — A North Carolina man died after his vehicle collided with a wrecker attempting to make a U-turn across Interstate 65 in Bullitt County early Saturday, according to Kentucky State Police.

KSP Post 4 troopers responded to the two-vehicle collision on northbound I-65 near the 112-mile marker shortly before midnight Friday after Bullitt County Dispatch requested troopers and an accident reconstructionist.

According to the preliminary investigation, Luis Gonzalez Perez, 34, of Louisville, was operating a wrecker that had been connected to a bobtail tractor parked on the shoulder of the interstate.

The tractor was facing northbound, while the wrecker was facing southbound as Perez prepared to transport it.

Perez attempted to make a U-turn across all three northbound lanes to travel northbound, according to KSP.

As the wrecker was turning, it was struck by a 2007 Ford Focus driven by Shawn Franklin, 43, of North Carolina.

Franklin sustained life-threatening injuries and was taken to University of Louisville Hospital, where he was pronounced dead by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office.

Perez was not injured and left the scene following the collision, KSP said. Troopers and other law enforcement agencies are attempting to locate him.

Charges are pending and will be referred through the Bullitt County Attorney’s Office, according to KSP.

Trooper Jesse Harp is investigating the collision.