Victim identified in deadly crash on Western Boulevard near NC State

A former Wake County Schools educator is dead after a multi-car crash that left eastbound lanes of Western Boulevard closed for hours.

Wanza Cole, 62, was identified as the victim of the fatal crash that happened Tuesday afternoon near North Carolina State University.

Police said the 62-year-old failed to stop at the intersection of Dan Allen Drive – causing a chain reaction with other cars stopped at the red light. First responders needed to cut the top of her car off to try to rescue her.

At 2:18 p.m. Cole was driving a 2019 Honda Accord eastbound on Western Boulevard, according to police. The crash happened near Dan Allen Drive near downtown Raleigh.

The driver of an Audi Q3 was stopped at a red light going eastbound on Western Boulevard at the intersection of Dan Allen Drive.

Two cars were stopped at the traffic light in front of the Audi Q3. As Cole approached the intersection, she failed to stop and struck the rear of the Audi Q3. This collision caused the Audi Q3 to hit the car in front of it. Cole’s vehicle then crossed into the right lane and struck another car.

One of the drivers was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

All eastbound lanes were completely blocked by a firetruck. The crash was visible from the WRAL tower camera. The road reopened just after 6 p.m.

Westbound traffic was moving slowly due to onlooker delays.

Crime scene tape was stretched across the roadway, and multiple first responders were at the scene. Four vehicles were involved in the wreck.

Witnesses reported seeing a white sedan traveling down the road and hearing a "big bang" sound. Firefighters worked to get the woman inside the vehicle to safety.

One of the drivers involved in the crash said the impact shook him up. He, along with students and drivers who use Western Boulevard, is curious to know the cause of the crash.

"It shook the car a little bit," said Aiden Walters, a driver involved in crash.

Walters, a second-year student at NC State, described how the crash impacted him and other drivers as they sat at the red light.

"I was sitting here with two other black cars, and I saw in my side mirror the white car was flying down the middle lane," Walters said.

Walters said he heard the white car strike the two black vehicles. His car was slightly damaged in the impact.

"It knocked the driver side mirror, but other than that I believe it's good," Walters said.

Investigators had to cut the roof off of Cole's vehicle to try and rescue her.

Some NC State students witnessed what happened as they walked to and from classes. The horrific scene unfolded on the route Kevin Manzanarez uses everyday to walk home.

"I heard from other people it was pretty bad and stuff," Manzanarez said. "They told us it was near Greek village. I have to walk that way to get back home and didn't know it was going to be to that spectrum."

Walters feels grateful to have walked away physically unharmed, but other impacts still linger.

"I was just really shaken up after that," he said. "It's the first accident I've been in."

Witnesses said the driver of the Audi Q3 was taken to the hospital. WRAL News is working to learn the driver's condition.