A motorcyclist was left with a severe lower-leg injury Tuesday night after a driver towing a trailer struck them and fled the scene on westbound Interstate 440 near Interstate 87 in Raleigh. Police say the crash happened around 7:24 p.m., prompting a shutdown of the westbound lanes while officers worked the scene and the injured rider was rushed to a hospital.
According to WRAL, Raleigh police are still investigating the hit-and-run and have not released any information about the vehicle or the driver who left the scene. The outlet reports the investigation remains ongoing, with no further details yet made public about who was behind the wheel of the trailer-towing vehicle.
Police have not said whether the vehicle was ever located, and no arrest or citation has been reported in connection with the crash. The station's report notes that the lack of vehicle information has left a key piece of the case unresolved for now.
Conflicting Reports on the Motorcyclist's Condition
A separate WRAL video report describes a hit-and-run crash that killed a man on a motorcycle and says authorities were looking for a driver believed to have slammed on the brakes in front of a trio of motorcycles. It is not established whether that account refers to the same Tuesday night crash on I-440 West, and the conflicting details about the outcome — a severe injury versus a fatality — have not been reconciled by either report.
The Raleigh Police Department posted about the closure on its Instagram account
, confirming that westbound I-440 was shut down in the area. It is not clear from available information when the westbound lanes reopened to traffic.
What North Carolina Law Requires of Drivers
North Carolina General Statute § 20-166, maintained by the North Carolina General Assembly, is titled “Duty to stop in event of a crash; furnishing information or assistance to injured person, etc.; persons assisting exempt from civil liability.” It is not established which specific provisions or penalties under that statute might apply to this particular case.
A Familiar Stretch of Highway for Motorcycle Crashes
This is not the first time a motorcycle crash has snarled traffic on I-440 in Raleigh. In July, a tow truck reportedly collided with two motorcycles and a car on Capital Boulevard, leaving one person dead and three seriously hurt, with the tow-truck driver taken into custody, according to CBS 17. In August of last year, a woman received numerous citations after police said she failed to see a motorcycle before making a left turn onto I-440 from Yonkers Road, per the same station. And back in April 2023, a fatal motorcycle crash closed westbound I-440 at Capital Boulevard for several hours.
For now, Raleigh police have released no further details on the vehicle or driver involved in Tuesday night's crash, and the investigation into the hit-and-run remains active.
