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Chatham County

Chatham County: Two drivers die after U.S. 421 chase, Highway Patrol says

WRAL and CBS 17 both name Eric Wheeler, 19, and Justin Williams, 21. Only the station's account of a patrol news release says which man was fleeing.

DevelopingOfficials are still releasing information. We update this story as facts are confirmed.

By Triangle Local Staff · Published

What we know

Confirmed

  • Two drivers died Friday night in a head-on wreck on U.S. 421 in Chatham County after a speeding driver tried to elude a State Highway Patrol trooper.Confirmed by WRAL (datePublished 21:10:53 UTC / 5:10 p.m. ET Oct. 31, 2026); North Carolina State Highway Patrol news release, as reported by CBS 17 (posted 4:59 p.m. ET Oct. 31, 2026)
  • WRAL wrote that a trooper tried to stop a vehicle going 92 mph in a 65-mph zone around 8:40 p.m. Friday near the Chatham-Lee County line, that the driver did not halt, left U.S. 421, used several other roads, then returned, and that minutes later the fleeing driver went south in the northbound lanes and hit another vehicle.Confirmed by WRAL only (Oct. 31, 2026, 5:10 p.m. ET)
  • CBS 17, citing a Highway Patrol news release, timed the collision around 8:47 p.m. along U.S. 421 while a suspect's vehicle was heading south in the northbound lanes amid a chase.Confirmed by North Carolina State Highway Patrol news release, as reported by CBS 17 (Oct. 31, 2026, 4:59 p.m. ET)
  • Both pages name Eric Wheeler, 19, and Justin Williams, 21, as the dead drivers. WRAL does not say which man was fleeing.Confirmed by WRAL (Oct. 31, 2026); CBS 17 (Oct. 31, 2026)
  • CBS 17, citing that release and Trooper Lt. Christopher D. Knox, wrote that Williams, 21, of Raeford, was driving in the correct direction when the fleeing car hit him, and that Wheeler, 19, of Waldorf, Maryland, was going 92 mph in a 65-mph zone at the Chatham and Lee County line.Confirmed by North Carolina State Highway Patrol, as reported by CBS 17 only (Oct. 31, 2026)
  • Knox, as quoted on that page, said the chase began about 10 minutes earlier when a trooper tried to stop a speeding driver on northbound U.S. 421, that the suspect vehicle failed to stop for lights and siren, left the highway, used several secondary roads, then rejoined the northbound side, made a U-turn traveling south onto U.S. 421, and used a median crossing to begin traveling south in the northbound lanes.Confirmed by Lt. Christopher D. Knox, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, as reported by CBS 17 only (Oct. 31, 2026)
  • CBS 17 wrote that a passenger in Williams' car was taken to UNC Chapel Hill with injuries that were not life-threatening.Confirmed by North Carolina State Highway Patrol news release, as reported by CBS 17 only (Oct. 31, 2026)
  • WRAL wrote that a passenger in the second vehicle was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. It does not name the hospital or say which car that person was in.Confirmed by WRAL only (Oct. 31, 2026)
  • The N.C. Department of Public Safety public press-release list, read Saturday evening, did not show a matching written Highway Patrol release we can quote ourselves.Confirmed by NCDPS press-release list (fetched Oct. 31, 2026)

Still unknown

  • A written Highway Patrol release on ncdps.gov we can read ourselves
  • Whether WRAL's 8:40 p.m. stop clock and CBS 17's 8:47 p.m. crash clock describe the same minute
  • How the passenger is doing
  • Whether anyone else was hurt
  • Further details the patrol said it had not released

What this means for you

Roads
The pages we read do not say whether U.S. 421 is still blocked. Check DriveNC or 511 before you travel. This site is not NCDOT.
Public safety
This story is not an official or emergency notice. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Instructions from North Carolina State Highway Patrol, as reported by CBS 17; WRAL; NCDPS press-release list

This site is not the North Carolina State Highway Patrol or NCDOT. For the case, use the patrol. For the road, use drivenc.gov or 511. This is not an emergency service. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

What happened

In Chatham County, two drivers died Friday night after a State Highway Patrol chase on U.S. 421 ended in a wreck.

WRAL, posted at 5:10 p.m. Saturday, wrote that a trooper tried to stop a vehicle going 92 mph in a 65-mph zone around 8:40 p.m. Friday near the Chatham-Lee County line. The driver did not halt, left the highway, used several other roads, then came back, that account said. Minutes later, it wrote, the fleeing driver went south in the northbound lanes and hit another vehicle.

CBS 17, posted at 4:59 p.m. and citing a patrol news release, timed the collision at 8:47 p.m. Lt. Christopher D. Knox, quoted from that release, said the chase started roughly ten minutes earlier on the northbound roadway.

Both pages name Eric Wheeler, 19, and Justin Williams, 21, as the dead drivers. WRAL does not say who was fleeing.

What only CBS 17 reports

The station, citing the release, said Williams, of Raeford, was going the right way when the fleeing car hit him. It said Wheeler, of Waldorf, Maryland, was doing 92 in a 65 at that county line.

Knox, as quoted there, said the suspect vehicle failed to stop for lights and siren. The same writeup said the driver left U.S. 421, used side roads, then rejoined heading north. Knox said the vehicle made a U-turn traveling south onto U.S. 421 before using a median crossing to travel the wrong way.

Williams died along with the driver who was being chased, the station wrote. Someone riding with Williams was taken to UNC Chapel Hill, it added.

WRAL wrote only that a rider in the second vehicle went to a hospital and that those injuries were not life-threatening. It does not name the hospital or say which car that person was in.

The N.C. Department of Public Safety public press-release list, read Saturday evening, did not show a matching written patrol notice we can quote.

What we don't know yet

We have not read the release on the state's own site. The two clocks may describe different minutes. Officials have not said how the passenger is doing, or whether anyone else was hurt.

Timeline

  • Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, 8:40 p.m. on WRAL's clock: The attempted stop at the Chatham and Lee border.
  • CBS 17's start time: Knox places the chase about ten minutes before the wreck, on northbound U.S. 421.
  • 8:47 p.m. on the station's clock: The collision, from the release.
  • 4:59 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31: CBS 17 posts its account of the release.
  • WRAL's Saturday stamp: 5:10 p.m. It names both drivers and does not assign the roles.

What happens next

We will update this story if the Highway Patrol posts a release we can read, or if either newsroom changes the names or the clocks. Triangle Local is not the patrol. This is not an emergency notice. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

Photos

Text-only. No outlet or agency photos are used here.

Why it matters

A Friday-night chase on U.S. 421 at the Chatham-Lee line killed two drivers and put a passenger in the hospital. Readers need the two newsrooms' split on names, clocks, and the hospital, not a flattened version.

Our video on this story

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Updates

  1. Oct 31, 2026, 6:10 PM

    WRAL and CBS 17 report that Eric Wheeler, 19, and Justin Williams, 21, died Friday night after a Highway Patrol chase on U.S. 421 in Chatham County ended in a head-on wreck. CBS 17, citing a patrol news release, names Williams as the Raeford driver going the right way.

Sources

  1. 2 drivers killed in head-on crash during high-speed chase on US 421 (WRAL News, datePublished 21:10:53 UTC / 5:10 p.m. ET Oct. 31, 2026; dateModified the same stamp: two drivers died Friday night in a head-on crash on U.S. Highway 421 in central North Carolina after a speeding driver tried to elude a State Highway Patrol trooper; trooper attempted to stop a vehicle traveling 92 mph in a 65-mph zone around 8:40 p.m. near the Chatham-Lee County line; driver failed to stop, exiting U.S. 421 and traveling on several secondary roads before returning; minutes later the fleeing driver traveled south in the northbound lanes and collided head-on with another vehicle; both drivers, Eric Wheeler, 19, and Justin Williams, 21, died; a passenger in the second vehicle was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. Does not assign the names to roles, print hometowns, the 8:47 p.m. clock, a U-turn, a median crossing, Lt. Knox, or UNC Chapel Hill. Text-only; no WRAL photos used.)

    Published by WRAL · Checked Oct 31, 2026, 6:10 PM

  2. Raeford driver dies when wrong-way, fleeing motorist crashes in Chatham County; suspect also killed: Troopers (CBS 17 / WNCN, posted Oct. 31, 2026, 4:59:46 p.m. ET, date_gmt 20:59:46; last modified 4:59:47 p.m. ET: Pittsboro dateline; young man from Hoke County died when his car was hit by a wrong-way driver fleeing troopers in Chatham County on Friday night; crash around 8:47 p.m. along U.S. 421 while a suspect's vehicle was heading south in the northbound lanes amid a chase, according to a North Carolina State Highway Patrol news release; Justin Williams, 21, of Raeford, driving in the correct direction when hit head-on by the fleeing suspect, Trooper Lt. Christopher D. Knox said in the news release; Williams died along with the driver who was being chased; passenger in Williams' car taken to UNC Chapel Hill, non-life-threatening injuries; chase began about 10 minutes earlier when a trooper tried to stop a speeding driver on northbound U.S. 421; Eric Wheeler, 19, of Waldorf, Maryland, driving 92 mph in a 65-mph zone at the Chatham and Lee County line; Knox quote, upon catching up the suspect vehicle failed to stop for lights and siren and a pursuit was initiated; suspect left U.S. 421, several secondary roads, later rejoined northbound U.S. 421; Knox quote, the vehicle made a U-turn traveling south onto U.S. 421 before using a median crossing to begin traveling south in the northbound lanes; head-on collision later ended the chase; no other information released. Read via the station's public WordPress JSON because the HTML page returned 403 here. Did not print WRAL's 8:40 p.m. clock. Text-only; no CBS 17 photos used.)

    Official sourcePublished by North Carolina State Highway Patrol, via CBS 17 · Checked Oct 31, 2026, 6:10 PM

  3. NCDPS public press-release list (fetched Saturday evening, Oct. 31, 2026: latest items included an Oct. 30 ALE and Polk County nuisance-property notice and an Oct. 29 domestic-violence analysis. No matching written Highway Patrol release for this U.S. 421 wreck was posted there.)

    Official sourcePublished by N.C. Department of Public Safety · Checked Oct 31, 2026, 6:10 PM

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