Crash claims anywhere in Wake County

I represent people hurt in crashes anywhere in Wake County, in Raleigh and in every other town the county lists. My only office is in Graham. There is no Raleigh office, and my first meeting with a Wake County client is by phone or video.

This page gathers the local facts that come up after a Wake County crash. It covers the towns, the crash counts the state publishes for the county, the courthouse where a civil case is heard and the way an officer's crash report is requested.

Which towns are part of Wake County?

Wake County Government lists twelve municipalities in the county. A crash inside any of them or on a road in the unincorporated county between them is a Wake County crash for the purposes of this site.

• Apex
• Cary
• Fuquay-Varina
• Garner
• Holly Springs
• Knightdale
• Morrisville
• Raleigh
• Rolesville
• Wake Forest
• Wendell
• Zebulon

The county's page also names Angier and Durham as municipalities whose jurisdiction extends into Wake County. Near those lines, check which police department responded, because that decides where the report comes from.

How many crashes does the state count in Wake County?

The newest county figures I could read are for 2024. NCDOT publishes a crash profile for each county, and NCDMV publishes the statewide Traffic Crash Facts report.

Town figures come from a different NCDOT report. Its 2025 ranking of cities with 10,000 or more people counts all reported crashes from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025. These are three-year totals and they are not comparable to the one-year county figures above.

Zebulon does not appear in that report. NCDOT publishes a separate ranking for cities with fewer than 10,000 people. None of these numbers says anything about a single crash or what a single claim is worth.

Where is a Wake County injury case heard?

A civil injury case in Wake County is heard at the Wake County Courthouse at 316 Fayetteville St. Mall in Raleigh. The North Carolina Judicial Branch states that all civil matters except marriages are conducted in that building.

The Judicial Branch places Wake County in District Court District 10 and Superior Court District 10. The county is also Prosecutorial District 10.

Criminal matters are handled at the Wake County Justice Center. A hit-and-run charge against the other driver would be a criminal case in that building. The injury claim is a separate civil matter that belongs to the injured person.

How is the crash report requested in Wake County?

The report comes from the agency whose officer worked the crash. Under G.S. 20-166.1, a reportable crash inside a city or town is reported to that town's police department. Outside a municipality the report goes to the State Highway Patrol or the sheriff's office or other qualified rural police.

• Raleigh Police Department. People involved in the crash and their attorneys or insurers can view a PDF of the report through the department's online Crash Report Database. The Police Records Division at Police Headquarters, 6716 Six Forks Road, does not charge for crash reports at its counter.
• Cary Police Department. Cary directs requests for reportable crash reports to NCDMV. Reports for crashes under the reportable threshold come from the Records Unit at 120 Wilkinson Avenue, which usually receives a report 24 to 48 hours after the officer files it.
• State Highway Patrol and the Wake County Sheriff's Office. The Highway Patrol states that crash reports from all of North Carolina's law enforcement agencies are forwarded to NCDMV. The Sheriff's Office records page covers incident reports and does not list crash reports, so NCDMV is the place to ask for a report a deputy wrote.

NCDMV takes requests on Form TR-67A by mail or in person at the Raleigh Central Services License Plate Agency, 4121 New Bern Ave. An individual receives a redacted copy and cannot order one online. The form points to the NCDMV crash reports page for the current fee.

The statute also sets the timing on the officer's side. The officer writes the report within 24 hours, and a local agency forwards it to NCDMV within 10 days. The guide to the first days after a Raleigh crash covers what to check once the report arrives.

Which major roads do official sources name?

Two NCDOT project pages name several of the county's main highways. The location of a crash on one of these roads decides which agency responds and where its report is filed.

• I-40, I-440, US 1 and US 64. NCDOT has two proposed projects in planning and development: rebuilding the interchange where the four meet, and adding lanes on I-40 from the I-440 and US 64 interchange to Lake Wheeler Road. NCDOT describes US 1 as a primary local highway and a route to Virginia and the mid-Atlantic region.
• The Triangle Expressway and Complete 540. NCDOT describes Complete 540 as running from the NC 55 Bypass in Apex to I-87, US 64 and US 264 in Knightdale. The section from NC 55 to I-40 and US 70 opened to traffic on Sept. 25, 2024, and NCDOT schedules the full project for completion in 2028.

Work zones on these roads change lane patterns over the life of a project. Photographs of the signs and the lane layout taken the day of the crash usually answer questions the report leaves open.

How do you work with Wake County clients from Graham?

The first meeting with a Wake County client is by phone or video, and I also meet clients in person. The office is at 110 W. Elm Street in Graham, and there is no office or meeting space in Raleigh or anywhere else in Wake County.

Most of the work does not depend on where the office sits. One of the first jobs is to find all insurance policies that provide coverage in a case, because insurers do not all come forward on their own. We heavily document our client's damages, and we negotiate liens down to maximize the recovery for the client.

I was admitted to practice in North Carolina in 1998, and I represent injured people across the state. My practice is personal injury from crashes, including car crash claims and wrongful death claims for families. I never promise an amount of damages. I give the client opinions based on my experience and let the client make the decision.

The phone number is 336-221-8900 and the email address is julian@juliandobylaw.com. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the contact page has the same details. Filing deadlines run on their own schedule, and the page on North Carolina filing deadlines explains the statutes.