Multiple I-40 incidents in Wake County include deputy crash, fatal collision

A crash involving a Wake County sheriff’s deputy vehicle on Interstate 40 at South Saunders Street in Raleigh caused major morning delays Feb. 18, 2026, with two lanes closed at one point and “a very strong backup of traffic,” CBS17 reported. The station said crews cleared the scene and later reported traffic returned to normal, and that reporters were “in touch with highway patrol” while they were still waiting to learn whether the deputy or anyone else had been hurt.

That Feb. 18 incident is the most recent of three separate crashes on I-40 in Wake County publicized in recent weeks. On Feb. 8, a Lexus traveling eastbound on I-40 near the Jones Sausage Road exit, between Raleigh and Garner, veered off the right side of the highway and struck a box truck that had been pulled over while awaiting roadside assistance, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and the News & Observer reported. A passenger in the Lexus died at the scene, the patrol said, the Lexus driver was taken to a nearby hospital, and the box truck occupant suffered only minor injuries. Troopers told investigators they suspected excessive speed and alcohol impairment, with preliminary estimates the Lexus may have been traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour; sections of I-40 were closed for about three hours while crews processed the scene and cleared debris. Criminal charges were listed as pending against the Lexus driver.

A separate pursuit and crash tied to I-40 was reported by WTVD/ABC11 in connection with activity May 11, when a Wake County deputy attempted to stop a speeding driver on I-40 eastbound who refused to pull over. The pursuit ended in the area of I-40 East and NC 540 when the deputy’s vehicle “veered off the road and crashed,” WTVD reported, and the deputy, described as female, is recovering from her injuries. Deputies later arrested and charged two 18-year-olds: Adrian Josiah Williams faces counts including prearranged speed competition, felony resist a public officer, and felony flee to elude arrest with a motor vehicle; Britton Deon Thomas Jr. faces felony resist a public officer, prearranged speed competition, felony flee to elude arrest with a motor vehicle, and felony aiding and abetting.

CBS17’s social media post about the Feb. 18 crash, “TRAFFIC ALERT: A serious crash involving a sheriff’s deputy vehicle has snarled traffic along a busy Raleigh interstate”, drew 73 reactions, nine comments and 11 shares, and some commenters claimed the deputy rear-ended another car; those eyewitness claims remain unverified. Authorities have not tied the three incidents together; state troopers and the Wake County Sheriff’s Office continue separate investigations, with criminal charges pending in the Feb. 8 deadly collision and the May pursuit resulting in arrests.