Durham woman found dead a day after crash on I-40, NC Highway Patrol says

A Durham woman was found dead Wednesday, hours after she was involved in a car accident on Interstate 40, according to the N.C. State Highway Patrol.

On Tuesday, around 1:30 a.m., troopers responded to a collision on I-40 near mile marker 268 in Orange County.

They discovered that a vehicle had veered off the road and crashed into a portable construction message board.

But they could not find the car’s driver, 27-year-old Diamond Alexus Powell.

With the help of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Highway Patrol said a drone with thermal imaging was deployed and “no one was discovered to be in the area.”

Later on Tuesday, troopers met with Powell’s family and did another drone search. They also did a K-9 search of the area and still did not find Powell.

On Wednesday around 8:30 a.m., Powell’s family found her body down an embankment off the right side of the highway, half a mile from the crash scene.

Further investigation suggests Powell died from a hit and run. The Highway Patrol suspects she walked away from the initial crash and was struck by a passing vehicle.

Authorities have not said what kind of vehicle they think struck Powell.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation should call the North Carolina State Highway Patrol by dialing *HP(47) or 336-334-5500.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

This story was originally published July 5, 2023 at 4:25 PM.