HIT-AND-RUN: Police say 59-year-old Robert Jackson Henderson was hit on the South Wilmington Street bridge, thrown onto South Saunders Street below, and struck by multiple vehicles before a 22-year-old driver was arrested.
RALEIGH, N.C. — A deadly Raleigh hit-and-run death is under investigation after a man was struck on the South Wilmington Street bridge and thrown onto South Saunders Street below, where he was hit by multiple vehicles, according to police.
According to Raleigh Police, the deadly incident happened around 3:30 a.m. Monday, May 4, 2026, on the South Wilmington Street bridge that crosses over South Saunders Street near downtown Raleigh.
59-year-old Robert Jackson Henderson was walking along the right shoulder of the bridge when a blue Honda CR-V plowed into him.
The impact was so violent it sent Henderson over and off the bridge and crashing onto the roadway below — where he was then struck by several other unidentified vehicles, authorities say. He died at the scene.
The driver of the Honda CR-V didn’t stick around. Instead, the suspect vehicle slammed into a wall on the bridge, sustaining heavy front-end damage, before the driver abandoned it right there in the roadway and took off on foot.
Police quickly identified and arrested 22-year-old Chandler Evan Brown. He’s now facing a laundry list of serious charges:
- Felony hit/run death
- Felony death by vehicle
- Driving while impaired (DWI)
- Failure to maintain lane control
- Failure to reduce speed
Brown was booked into the Wake County Detention Center and ordered held on $250,000 secured bail. Court records show he has a prior history of speed-related charges.
