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Triangle Local

Durham, Durham County

Durham: Crash on N.C. 55 near Cecil Street sends five to hospital, police say

WRAL timed a Sunday-night wreck around 9:30 p.m. and wrote a girl on a scooter was seriously hurt. CBS 17 names a 16-year-old on the scooter and says all five injuries were serious. The stations disagree on how many cars were hit.

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

  • Five people were hurt in a multi-vehicle crash on N.C. 55 near Cecil Street in Durham and were taken for hospital treatment.Confirmed by Durham Police Department, as reported by WRAL (posted Oct. 26) and CBS 17 (posted Oct. 26)
  • WRAL wrote that the wreck happened around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, and that a vehicle hit three other cars and a scooter.Confirmed by WRAL (posted Oct. 26, 2026, 2:02 p.m.)
  • CBS 17, citing a preliminary Durham police investigation, wrote that a man driving a Ford Escape SUV north on N.C. 55 crossed the line, struck a vehicle, lost control, hit a 16-year-old girl riding a scooter in the road, then hit a second vehicle in the southbound lane before coming to rest.Confirmed by Durham Police Department, as reported by CBS 17 (posted Oct. 26, 2026, 2:24 p.m. ET)
  • CBS 17's opening sentence said five people, including a teenage girl, were taken to a hospital after a crash "Monday morning." That wording does not match WRAL's Sunday-night, about-9:30 p.m. line. This file does not treat Monday morning as the crash time.Confirmed by Comparison of CBS 17 (Oct. 26) and WRAL (Oct. 26)
  • WRAL wrote that a girl driving the scooter was taken to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, and that four other people were taken with minor injuries.Confirmed by WRAL (posted Oct. 26, 2026)
  • CBS 17 wrote that the teenage girl and four others all suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were sent to a local hospital.Confirmed by Durham Police Department, as reported by CBS 17 (posted Oct. 26, 2026)
  • CBS 17 wrote that police did not say whether the SUV driver was among the people injured, and that as of Monday afternoon the case remained under investigation.Confirmed by Durham Police Department, as reported by CBS 17 (posted Oct. 26, 2026)
  • A Monday afternoon load of the city's police CivicAlerts list did not show a written news flash matching this wreck.Confirmed by City of Durham CivicAlerts police news list (CID 15), fetched Oct. 26, 2026

Alleged or reported

  • The driver was drunk.Durham police, as reported only by WRAL. CBS 17 did not report a drunk-driving suspicion. No charge has been announced
  • The driver will face criminal charges.WRAL wrote Durham police said charges are pending. CBS 17 wrote charges are expected. Neither named a charge

Still unknown

  • The name and age of the driver
  • What charge, if any, will be filed, and when
  • Which injury wording is correct
  • How many other vehicles were hit (WRAL's three cars versus CBS 17's two)
  • Whether CBS 17's "Monday morning" line is a misstated crash time
  • Whether the SUV driver was among the five people treated
  • Hospital names and current conditions
  • Whether N.C. 55 was closed, and when any lanes reopened
  • A written Durham Police Department release

What this means for you

Roads
WRAL and CBS 17 did not say whether N.C. 55 was closed or has reopened. A Monday afternoon search did not turn up a live DriveNC item we could cite. Check DriveNC or 511 before you travel.
Public safety
A girl on a scooter was among those hurt. Officials have not released her name. This story is not an official or emergency notice. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Instructions from City of Durham non-emergency listing; Durham CrimeStoppers; NCDOT DriveNC

This site is not the Durham Police Department or NCDOT. For the case, use the department. For the road, use drivenc.gov or 511. Tips can go to Durham police at 919-560-4600, or to Durham CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200 or durhamcrimestoppers.org. This is not an emergency service. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

What happened

In Durham, a wreck on N.C. 55 near Cecil Street sent five people for treatment, according to the city's police force as reported by WRAL and CBS 17.

WRAL timed it around 9:30 p.m. Sunday and wrote that a vehicle hit three other cars and a scooter. That account said the driver is suspected of driving drunk and that charges are pending.

CBS 17 described a man driving a Ford Escape north who crossed the line, struck one vehicle, lost control, hit a 16-year-old girl on a scooter in the roadway, then struck a second vehicle in the southbound lane. Its opening line said five people, including a teenage girl, went to a hospital "Monday morning." That clock does not match WRAL's Sunday-night line, so this file does not treat Monday morning as when the wreck happened.

The injury wording also splits. WRAL wrote the girl on the scooter had serious but not life-threatening injuries and that four other people had minor ones. CBS 17 applied serious-but-not-fatal wording to all five. We are not picking one version.

CBS 17 added that the department did not say whether the SUV driver was among those hurt. It also wrote a charge is expected. As of Monday afternoon, that report said the case remained under investigation.

We have not found a written Durham Police Department release. A Hoodline item repeats WRAL and is not a second source.

Triangle Local is not Durham's police force. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

What we don't know yet

Officials have not named the driver or said what charge, if any, will be filed. It is also unclear which injury account is correct, how many other vehicles were hit, and whether N.C. 55 was closed.

What happens next

We will update this story if the department posts its own account or announces a charge.

Photos

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

Why it matters

A wreck on N.C. 55 near Cecil Street sent five people for treatment, including a girl on a scooter. The two stations disagree on injuries, how many cars were hit, and whether the driver was suspected of driving drunk. People who use that road need those splits kept in view. This page is not an emergency notice.

Updates

  1. Oct 26, 2026, 4:10 PM

    WRAL, citing Durham police, reports a Sunday-night wreck around 9:30 p.m. on N.C. 55 near Cecil Street, a girl on a scooter with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, four other people with minor injuries, a suspected drunk driver, and charges pending. CBS 17, also citing the department, reports a Ford Escape, a 16-year-old on the scooter, two other vehicles, and serious but non-life-threatening injuries for all five. Its lead says Monday morning. Those accounts do not match.

Sources

  1. Suspected drunk driver hits scooter and several cars, girl hospitalized in Durham (WRAL, posted Oct. 26, 2026, 2:02 p.m.: several people injured Sunday night; around 9:30 p.m.; a vehicle crashed into three other cars and a scooter on NC 55 near Cecil Street; driver suspected of driving drunk, according to Durham police; girl driving the scooter taken to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries; four other people taken with minor injuries; charges pending for the suspected drunk driver. Text-only; no WRAL photos used.)

    Official sourcePublished by Durham Police Department, via WRAL · Checked Oct 26, 2026, 4:10 PM

  2. 5 hurt, including teen girl on scooter, after SUV hits multiple vehicles on NC 55 in Durham: Police (CBS 17 / WNCN, posted 2:24 p.m. ET Oct. 26, 2026: Durham Police Department; lead said five people including a teenage girl taken to the hospital following a multi-vehicle crash Monday morning; N.C. 55 near Cecil Street; preliminary investigation, a man driving a Ford Escape SUV north crossed the line and struck a vehicle, lost control; SUV hit a 16-year-old girl riding a scooter in the road; then a second vehicle in the southbound lane; teenage girl and four others serious but non-life-threatening injuries, all sent to a local hospital; police did not say if the SUV driver was among the injured; charges expected; Monday afternoon still under investigation. Read via the station's public WordPress JSON because the HTML page returned 403 here. Text-only; no CBS 17 or department photos used.)

    Published by CBS 17 (WNCN) · Checked Oct 26, 2026, 4:10 PM

  3. City of Durham CivicAlerts police news list (CID 15), fetched Oct. 26, 2026, afternoon ET. No written news flash matching this N.C. 55 / Cecil Street wreck was posted there.

    Official sourcePublished by City of Durham · Checked Oct 26, 2026, 4:10 PM

  4. Durham 911 Center non-emergency number (919-560-4600)

    Official sourcePublished by City of Durham · Checked Oct 26, 2026, 4:10 PM

  5. Durham CrimeStoppers (919-683-1200; durhamcrimestoppers.org)

    Official sourcePublished by Durham CrimeStoppers · Checked Oct 26, 2026, 4:10 PM

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