Police charge Wake County school board chair with speeding — in a school zone
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- School board chair Tyler Swanson accused of driving 47 mph in a 25 mph zone.
- Incident occurred Jan. 9 at 2:42 p.m. near West Cary Middle during school-zone hours.
- Swanson supported school-zone cameras; any fines would go to the school system.
Wake County school board chair Tyler Swanson is facing a charge of speeding while driving through a school zone in Cary.
Court records show Swanson is accused of going 47 miles per hour in a 25 miles per hour school zone during posted hours while school was in session. The traffic citation from Cary Police says the incident happened Jan. 9 at 2:42 p.m. on Evans Road near West Cary Middle School.
West Cary Middle dismisses at 2:15 p.m. But school speed zones in Cary last until 30 minutes after dismissal.
Swanson referred questions from The News & Observer to John McWilliam, the attorney representing him in the traffic case. McWilliam did not return multiple calls from The N&O requesting comment on Thursday.
Swanson has a court hearing scheduled for May 6. If convicted, any fine paid under state law would go to the school system.
Swanson supports speed cameras in school zones
Swanson is a former special education teacher at Enloe High School in Raleigh. He became the youngest person elected to the Wake County school board in 2022 when he defeated Michele Morrow to represent District 9, which includes much of Cary.
Swanson was 28 when he was first elected and 29 when he was sworn into office.
In December, Swanson, 32, became the youngest person to be elected chairperson of the Wake school board. Wake is North Carolina’s largest school system, educating 160,000 students.
In March, the school board was briefed on a proposal to work with the county to install cameras in school zones and on school bus stop-arms. The effort was promoted as a way to discourage speeders, as well as raise additional revenue for the school system from the fine money.
Swanson was one of the most outspoken members in support of installing the cameras during the board discussion.
“We want them (students) to be safe and do what’s best and shift human behavior around school zones,” Swanson said at the school board’s March facilities committee meeting.
This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 1:40 PM.
