A state trooper was killed in a wrong-way crash on the Durham Freeway early Sunday morning by a driver with at least three DWIs.
Master Trooper Steven J. Perry, 30, was driving northbound on the Freeway, also known as N.C. 147, near Anderson Street when his Dodge Charger was hit head-on by a 2015 Nissan Altima, according to a news release. The Altima was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes.
Melshawn Moore, 39, of Kinston, was behind the wheel of the Altima, the release said. He was killed. Investigators said they suspect he was impaired, though they didn’t specify what substance he is thought to have consumed.
Court records show Moore had been convicted of driving while impaired at least three times in North Carolina:
- He pleaded guilty Jan. 20, 2010, to driving while impaired in August 2009 in Jacksonville and received a year of unsupervised probation.
- He pleaded guilty Jan. 22, 2013, to driving while impaired in May 2012 in Lenoir County and was given a suspended sentence. Moore then served five months in the misdemeanant confinement program after violating the terms of his probation in May 2017.
- He pleaded guilty Sept. 25, 2017, to driving while impaired in May 2017 in Lenoir County and was sentenced to 27 days of jail and a year of supervised probation.
Traffic citations against Moore, ranging from reckless driving to endanger to possession of an open container/consuming alcohol in a passenger area, were dismissed in at least six cases in Lenoir and Pitt counties from 2010 to 2022, court records show.
Moore and Perry both died at the scene. Neither vehicle had any other passengers, according to the release.
State troopers responded about 2:45 a.m., but radio traffic suggests the crash was first reported shortly after 2:30 a.m.
“They’re saying two cars crashed, possible injuries and possibly a state trooper involved,” a dispatcher radioed at 2:39 a.m.
Radio traffic indicated the crash occurred on the northbound side of the freeway, with debris blocking all lanes. Police closed the road near Swift Avenue just before 3 a.m., and the road had reopened by noon Sunday, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s website.
Perry worked in Durham County throughout his six years as a trooper and was a member of the 148th Basic Patrol school, the State Highway Patrol said.
“Please stay safe, take care of one another and keep the family in your prayers,” Col. Freddy Johnson Jr., the patrol’s commander, wrote in the Facebook post.
The crash remained under investigation as of Sunday afternoon.
This story was originally published March 1, 2026 at 10:23 AM.
Lexi Solomon
The News & Observer
Lexi Solomon joined The News & Observer in August 2024 as the emerging news reporter. She previously worked in Fayetteville at The Fayetteville Observer and CityView, reporting on crime, education and local government. She is a 2022 graduate of Virginia Tech with degrees in Russian and National Security & Foreign Affairs.
