RALEIGH, N.C. — A high-speed collision before dawn Friday left two drivers dead on a major northern Raleigh thoroughfare, marking one of the city’s deadliest traffic incidents this year.
The Raleigh Police Department reported the crash occurred at 3:29 a.m. on U.S. Highway 401/Louisburg Road near I-540, when 33-year-old Rashon Jamaal Combs’ northbound Hyundai Tucson ran a red light at Midtown Market Avenue “at a very high rate of speed.” His SUV T-boned the driver’s side of 22-year-old Trinidy Shehabb Amer’s Acura TLX as she attempted a left turn onto southbound Louisburg Road. Both died instantly from catastrophic impact injuries.
Traffic homicide investigators spent Friday reconstructing the violent collision, which scattered debris across multiple lanes of the busy commuter corridor. Preliminary findings suggest excessive speed and signal violation as primary factors, though toxicology reports remain pending. The crash site remained closed for seven hours, snarling morning rush hour traffic as forensic teams documented evidence.
Combs, a Raleigh resident, and Amer, whose hometown wasn’t immediately released, represented what transportation safety experts call “the most vulnerable demographic” for fatal crashes—young adults driving during high-risk overnight hours. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows 31% of North Carolina’s traffic deaths in 2023 occurred between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
“This tragic loss underscores why we constantly emphasize defensive driving and obeying traffic controls,” said Raleigh PD Sgt. James Boone during a midday briefing. The department plans to increase overnight traffic enforcement along the Louisburg Road corridor, where speed-related crashes have risen 18% since 2022.
Funeral arrangements for both victims are pending as their families grapple with sudden loss. The crash marks Raleigh’s 12th and 13th traffic fatalities of 2024, putting the city on pace to exceed last year’s total of 27 roadway deaths.