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Triangle Local

Durham, Durham County

Durham: Woman found dead on I-40 near Davis Drive after being hit by vehicles

Durham police said officers found her after a 1:30 a.m. Friday call. DriveNC listed eastbound Interstate 40 closed from Exit 280 to Exit 281 because of a crash.

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

By Triangle Local Newsroom · Published

The downtown Durham skyline under an overcast sky

File photo: Discover Durham (CC BY 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What we know

Confirmed

  • Durham police answered a call about a pedestrian being struck on Interstate 40 near Davis Drive around 1:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. Officers found a woman dead.Confirmed by Durham Police Department, as reported by WRAL (Oct. 23). CBS 17's Friday RSS headline and lede independently reported a woman dead after being struck by multiple vehicles on I-40 in Durham
  • WRAL, citing that department, wrote that unknown vehicles had hit her more than once. CBS 17's RSS lede used the same multiple-vehicle wording.Confirmed by WRAL, Oct. 23, 2026; CBS 17 RSS, Oct. 23, 2026
  • WRAL placed the call on eastbound Interstate 40 near Davis Drive and described the stretch as near Raleigh-Durham International Airport.Confirmed by WRAL, Oct. 23, 2026
  • The N.C. Department of Transportation DriveNC event page, when we first read it Friday morning, listed eastbound Interstate 40 closed from Exit 280 to Exit 281 in Durham County due to a crash, event ID 26102300001. It timed the closure from 1:43 a.m. and showed a last update of 8:09 a.m.Confirmed by NCDOT DriveNC event 2598369, fetched Oct. 23, 2026
  • That DriveNC posting gave this detour: leave at Exit 280, use Davis Drive to N.C. 54 East, then N.C. 540 West to return to Interstate 40 East at Exit 1A.Confirmed by NCDOT DriveNC event 2598369, fetched Oct. 23, 2026
  • WRAL quoted an NCDOT spokesperson saying the road may open by 8 a.m. and told drivers to use Exit 280 and go around on N.C. 54.Confirmed by WRAL, Oct. 23, 2026, citing NCDOT
  • A later load of the same DriveNC event address returned "item not found." We have not read a written "cleared" notice we can quote.Confirmed by NCDOT DriveNC event 2598369, fetched again Oct. 23, 2026
  • WRAL wrote that the department said it could not release any other information about the investigation.Confirmed by WRAL, Oct. 23, 2026
  • A search of the city's police news-flash listings Friday morning found no matching written release for this crash.Confirmed by City of Durham police news-flash page (fetched Oct. 23, 2026)

Still unknown

  • The woman's name and age
  • How she came to be on the interstate
  • Which vehicles hit her, and whether any driver stopped
  • Whether anyone will be charged
  • Whether eastbound lanes have reopened since DriveNC's 8:09 a.m. update

What this means for you

Roads
DriveNC, when we first read it Friday morning, listed eastbound Interstate 40 closed from Exit 280 to Exit 281 and posted a detour via Exit 280, Davis Drive, N.C. 54 East and N.C. 540 West back to Interstate 40 East at Exit 1A. A later load of that event page returned item not found. Check DriveNC or 511 before you travel.
Public safety
Officials have not identified the vehicles that hit the woman. This story is not an official or emergency notice. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Instructions from NCDOT DriveNC; Durham Police Department, as reported by WRAL

This site is not the Durham Police Department or NCDOT. For the road, use drivenc.gov or 511. For a police emergency, call 911. This site is not an emergency service. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

What happened

In Durham, a woman was found dead on Interstate 40 near Davis Drive early Friday after she was hit by vehicles.

Durham police said they answered a call about a pedestrian being struck there around 1:30 a.m. WRAL, citing that department, wrote that officers found her dead and that unknown vehicles had hit her more than once. CBS 17's Friday morning RSS dispatch, the only version of that page we could read, independently reported a woman dead after being struck by multiple vehicles on the same interstate.

The state's DriveNC board, when we first opened the event Friday morning, listed the eastbound lanes closed from Exit 280 to Exit 281 because of a crash. That posting timed the shutdown from 1:43 a.m., showed an 8:09 a.m. update, and told drivers to leave at Exit 280, use Davis Drive to N.C. 54 East, then N.C. 540 West to rejoin Interstate 40 East at Exit 1A.

WRAL quoted an NCDOT spokesperson saying the stretch may open by 8 a.m. and to go around on N.C. 54. A later load of the same DriveNC address returned "item not found." We have not read a written note saying the lanes are open.

The city's police news-flash list had no matching release Friday morning. Officials have not named the woman, said how she came to be on the road, identified the vehicles, or said whether anyone will be charged.

Check DriveNC or 511 before you travel. Triangle Local is not the Durham Police Department or NCDOT. This is not an emergency notice. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

Photos

Text-only. No outlet photos are used here.

Why it matters

A woman was killed on a main interstate used by Durham and RDU traffic. Drivers need NCDOT's own board for whether the lanes are open, and officials have not identified her or the vehicles.

Updates

  1. Oct 23, 2026, 8:14 AM

    WRAL and CBS 17 report a woman found dead on Interstate 40 near Davis Drive after a 1:30 a.m. Friday call. DriveNC listed eastbound lanes closed from Exit 280 to Exit 281 when we first read the event; a later load of that page returned item not found.

Sources

  1. DriveNC event 2598369 / ID 26102300001 (fetched Friday morning, Oct. 23, 2026: I-40 Eastbound CLOSED from Exit 280 to Exit 281 in Durham County due to crash; detour Exit 280, left to Davis Dr, left to NC 54 East, left to NC 540 West, to Exit 1A, to I-40 East; start Oct 23 2026, 1:43 AM; last updated Oct 23 2026, 8:09 AM). A later load of the same address returned item not found.

    Official sourcePublished by N.C. Department of Transportation · Checked Oct 23, 2026, 8:10 AM

  2. Deadly crash in Durham: Severe, hours-long delays on I-40 and I-885 after woman hit by vehicles (WRAL, posted Oct. 23, 2026, 8:08 a.m.: Durham police answered a pedestrian-hit call on I-40 near Davis Drive around 1:30 a.m. Friday; officers found the woman dead; unknown vehicles had hit her more than once; eastbound stretch near RDU; NCDOT spokesperson said the road may open by 8 a.m.; drivers should use Exit 280 and N.C. 54; department said it could not release other information. This file does not use WRAL reporter color on backups or Sky 5.)

    Published by WRAL · Checked Oct 23, 2026, 8:12 AM

  3. Woman killed after being hit by multiple vehicles on I-40 near RDU (WRAL video page: Durham police answered a pedestrian-hit call on eastbound I-40 near Davis Drive around 1:30 a.m. Friday; officers found the woman dead; unknown vehicles had hit her more than once)

    Published by WRAL · Checked Oct 23, 2026, 8:12 AM

  4. Woman dead after being hit by multiple cars on I-40 in Durham, police say (CBS 17 RSS, pubDate Fri, 23 Oct 2026 11:16:03 +0000 / 7:16 a.m. Eastern: headline and lede only; the full page was blocked here. Lede: a woman is dead after being struck by multiple vehicles on I-40 in Durham early Friday morning, police said.)

    Published by CBS 17 (WNCN) · Checked Oct 23, 2026, 8:12 AM

  5. City of Durham police news-flash listings (no matching Oct. 23 I-40 pedestrian release when checked Friday morning)

    Official sourcePublished by City of Durham · Checked Oct 23, 2026, 8:12 AM

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