Police investigating after NC State professor killed by car near campus
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- N.C. State professor Natalia Duque-Wilckens was struck and killed by a pick-up truck.
- The driver, 19-year-old Jack Etheridge, was cited with misdemeanor death by vehicle.
- The crash remained under investigation Wednesday.
An N.C. State University professor was fatally struck by a car near campus, Raleigh police announced Wednesday.
Police were called to the intersection of Pogue Street and Clark Avenue shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday after a 2018 Ford pickup truck struck a pedestrian, according to court documents. Natalia Duque-Wilckens, 41, was found in the road with serious injuries and later died at the hospital, police said.
Jack Thomas Etheridge, 19, of Waxhaw is charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle in the crash, court records show. He’s accused of failing to yield while turning at a stop or yield sign, according to the citation.
Duque-Wilckens worked as an assistant professor in the department of biological sciences, the university’s website shows. She received her doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Chile in 2010 and a PhD in animal behavior from the University of California Davis in 2017.
Duque-Wilckens’ research focused on mechanisms in the neuro-immune system impacting emotional regulation with the goal of creating new treatments for depression and anxiety, according to her biography. She worked at U.C. Davis and Michigan State University before coming to N.C. State.
The crash remained under investigation as of Wednesday afternoon, police said. Etheridge is scheduled to appear in court on the citation in March, court records show.
This story was originally published November 12, 2025 at 1:08 PM.
