The North Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal hit and run in Orange County.
Authorities said troopers responded just after 3:20 a.m. Monday to a report of a pedestrian being struck on Interstate 40/85 near mile marker 161 in western Orange County just before the interstates split.
Law enforcement officials found 33-year-old Deshawn Maurice Perry, of Durham, dead in the far-right travel lane of the northbound lanes of the interstate. Officials said that it appeared Perry had changed a flat tire “and was in the process of gathering his tools when he was struck by an unknown vehicle.”
There is no suspect vehicle description or information regarding any possible damage to the suspect vehicle at this time.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the State Highway Patrol’s Orange County office at (919) 732-2551 during business hours or any time at 1-800-334-7411.
This tragic indecent brings to mind an almost identical situation that killed former Tar Heel Sports Network broadcaster Stephen Gates about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday morning Oct. 4, 2003. Gates, then 27, was the sideline reporter for UNC football games. He was returning to Durham, from Greensboro after visiting friends and family on Friday night. Gates was scheduled to work the UNC-Virginia game that Saturday afternoon in Kenan Stadium. He also had stopped near the I-40/85 split east of Hillsborough in Orange County, to deal with a blown tire. He had stopped in the merge lane, not on the shoulder. The State Highway Patrol said another eastbound vehicle hit Gates’ car and then Gates. The driver of that vehicle was later found in Raleigh. Former Orange County District Attorney Carl Fox never filed hit-and-run charges. News reports said DWI charges related to what happened after Gates was struck, were subsequently filed against that driver in Raleigh.
Stephen also hosted UNC men’s basketball post-game reports and was the play-by-play voice for UNC women’s basketball. He hosted coach Sylvia Hatchell’s weekly radio show on WCHL and contributed to WCHL’s long running “Countdown to Kickoff” pre-game show. But Gates’ passion was baseball. He called UNC men’s baseball games on WCHL, as well as Burlington Indians game on radio in Alamance County. He always worked in a shirt and tie, regardless of temperature. Ron Stutts and the late Woody Durham knew him well. According to a May 2004 article in the Greensboro New & Record, Gates aspired to one day become the radio voice of the Cincinnati Reds. See also: https://www.greensboro.com/news/general_assignment/couple-wants-someone-to-take-responsibility-for-their-son-s/article_3f5e4b6d-d5ec-5844-9c7a-6f77265b6a9c.html.
Anyone who regularly travels back to the Chapel Hill area from the west late at night knows how dangerous that highway split intersection can be, as drivers often make last minute decisions to diverge towards I-40 East, crossing multiple I-85 travel lanes at the last minute.
He was my husband. They shp never look for the driver