Raleigh will place new stop signs at intersection where NCSU professor died
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Raleigh will install stop signs at three Clark Avenue intersections to slow traffic.
- City analysis found 9–10k daily drivers and frequent speeding near NCSU area.
- Council acted after fatal crosswalk crash and petition demanding safety fixes.
The city will erect stop signs at three intersections on Clark Avenue near N.C. State University, including the one with Pogue Street where a biology professor was hit and killed in a crosswalk last fall.
The signs, due to go up within the next week, will create four-way-stop intersections at Pogue, Horne and Chamberlain streets, in a bid to slow drivers on Clark and improve safety for pedestrians. Up to now, drivers on Clark have not had to stop at those intersections.
Clark Avenue parallels Hillsborough Street and is a popular alternate route. Between 9,000 and 10,000 drivers a day use Clark at those intersections, many exceeding the posted speed limit of 30 mph, according to a city analysis completed after last fall’s fatal crash.
This section of Clark is lined with homes and apartment buildings in a neighborhood near the NCSU campus and The Village District where a lot of people get around on foot.
Natalia Duque-Wilckens was crossing the street on Nov. 11 when she was hit by a pickup truck turning left from Pogue onto Clark. Duque-Wilckens, 41, died later at a hospital.
The driver, Jack Thomas Etheridge, 19, of Waxhaw, was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle and failure to yield. Those charges are still pending.
The crash prompted an outcry from residents who implored the city to make changes to Clark Avenue and to the Pogue intersection in particular. They noted that the hilly topography and a tree-lined median made it difficult for drivers to see people crossing the street.
More than 1,200 signed a petition that said Duque-Wilckens’ death was the result of “known and unaddressed safety failures.” There have been nine reported crashes at the Clark and Pogue intersection within the past three years, according to the city analysis.
“Students, faculty, staff, and residents rely on these crossings every day. They deserve to walk safely in their own community,” the petition read. “If proper safety measures were in place, Dr. Duque-Wilckens might still be with us today.”
The Raleigh City Council approved the new stop signs Tuesday.
This story was originally published March 18, 2026 at 11:25 AM.
