A Durham man was killed early Tuesday after the car he was driving left Garrett Road, tore through a fence and a raised driveway, and slammed into a parked vehicle near Lansbury Drive. His female passenger, who was wearing her seatbelt, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital, while police say the driver was not wearing his.
The Durham Police Department Traffic and Crash Team was called to the 4000 block of Garrett Road around 1:58 a.m. Tuesday, according to CBS17. Police say a 2014 Nissan Altima was traveling north on Garrett Road when it partially left the road to the right, drove through a ditch, ran over a fence, hit a raised driveway, and ultimately crashed into a parked car. The man driving the Altima was thrown into the back seat during the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Durham police say they are continuing to investigate the crash and are asking anyone with information to contact Investigator T. Fitting at (919) 560-4935 ext. 29409.
Speed Flagged as a Factor in Preliminary Findings
Preliminary findings from the Durham Police Department investigation indicate that vehicle speed appeared to be a factor in the crash, according to a report cited by the Raleigh News & Observer. The investigation remains active, and no additional details about the driver's or passenger's identities have been released.
The stretch of Garrett Road where the crash occurred has drawn city attention before. The City of Durham installed a High-Intensity Activated crossWalK, or HAWK, pedestrian signal along the corridor in April 2024, aimed at improving safety on high-volume streets where speed limits exceed 35 mph, near Jordan High School, per Southpoint Access. Garrett Road has also been the site of past serious crash investigations; Durham police's Traffic Services Division investigated a December 2017 hit-and-run in the 5300 block that left a 67-year-old bicyclist severely injured, according to the City of Durham.
Seatbelt Use and the Law in North Carolina
The dynamics of this crash — an unbelted driver killed while a belted passenger survived with lesser injuries — echo broader statistics on restraint use. Roughly 47% of passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes nationally were unrestrained, and North Carolina recorded 1,619 motor vehicle fatalities in 2024, according to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety data.
Under North Carolina General Statutes § 20-135.2A, front-seat drivers and passengers who fail to buckle up face a $25.50 penalty plus $53.50 in court costs, while rear-seat violators face only a $10 fine with no court costs, per BuckleUpNC.org. Notably, the statute's subsection (d1) classifies an unbuckled backseat occupant as a secondary violation, meaning officers cannot stop a vehicle solely because a rear passenger isn't belted — another traffic violation must occur first, according to the UNC School of Government.
Part of a Wider Rise in Durham Traffic Deaths
The fatal crash lands amid a documented rise in Durham traffic deaths over the past decade. Citywide fatalities climbed from 97 between 2014 and 2018 to 121 between 2019 and 2023, with the city now averaging roughly 23 traffic deaths per year, according to a city transportation department presentation reported by INDY Week. In 2024 alone, Durham logged nearly 9,000 vehicle accidents — about 22 crashes per day — resulting in 27 fatalities and hundreds of serious injuries, per data cited by WRAL.
City transportation safety data shows that about 74% of all fatal and severe-injury crashes in Durham occur on just 10% of city streets, a subset officially designated the High Injury Network, according to Way To Go Durham. In response, city officials approved a five-year Vision Zero Action Plan for 2025 through 2029 following a city council resolution, setting formal goals to cut traffic deaths and severe injuries in half by 2035 and eliminate them entirely by 2045, the same source notes.
Durham police have not released the identities of the man killed or the woman injured in Tuesday's crash. The investigation remains open, and anyone with information has been asked to contact Investigator T. Fitting.
