Driver to be charged in fatal Wake Forest crash. Here’s what we know
A driver in a wrong-way crash that killed one person and injured three others n Wake Forest on Tuesday night will face charges, police said.
Police were called to the three-vehicle crash along Capital Boulevard/U.S. 1 near Star Road around 11:15 p.m., according to a town news release Wednesday.
Katana Perry, 24, of Raleigh died at the scene and three people were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, the release said.
The initial investigation indicated Willie Gene Coleman, 74, of Philadelphia was traveling southbound in a northbound lane when he crashed into two other cars, police said. Perry was a passenger in one of the cars Coleman allegedly struck.
All northbound lanes of Capital Boulevard at Star Road were closed for four and a half hours as police and the State Highway Patrol investigated, the release said.
Coleman remained hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday afternoon and will be served with charges of misdemeanor death by vehicle and driving the wrong way on a dual lane highway upon his release, police said. Investigators don’t believe he was impaired at the time of the crash.
Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call the Wake Forest Police Department at 919-554-6150.
This story was originally published May 21, 2025 at 8:45 AM.
