Eyewitness News at 5am - October 23, 2026
00:01Right now, live coverage from your local newsleader, breaking stories from overnight and this morning, and your first alert forecast.Here's what's happening where you live. This is ABC 11 eyewitness news.5 a.m. on your friday. Good morning, Carolina. Welcome on this Friday. It is October 23rd. I'm Joel Brown.And I'm Anna Rivera. Thanks so much for joining us today. Breaking right now, a deadly crash closes part of I-40 in Durham.Our Sean Coffey is live near the scene with all of the latest details.the live report straight ahead. We are on verdict watch in the faith hedge path murder trial.Jurors will resume deliberations in a matter of hours why they couldn't make a decision yesterday.Plus a major campaign concert in Carborough, Roy Cooper holding an event at the new Cat's Cradle today.
00:48Plus early voting numbers are in how Democrats and Republicans are faring so far.We'll talk all about it. But first, a check of weather and traffic together.Quayelan's off. Steve Stewart is here. You like the 70s?back there back there again today she'd like it a little warmer she's like a little80s but I you know I can do 70s it's just these cold mornings I was watching someonetalking about this is that time of year like you think that it's cold outside don'tthey and people don't put deodorant on but then by the afternoon you need deodorantI've never heard I haven't heard that you have people doing oh my gosh she's watching some
01:19different shows she's hey it is a nice outside right now put your deodorant on you'll needthat a little bit later on for todayWe'll get up about normal.We'll probably reach a high of 70 degrees.Lots of sunshine, maybe a couple little fair weather cloudsas you look out to the east later on.Normal 71, so we're right where we should be.Hit 72 yesterday barely holding onto a surplus with the rainfall,
01:43and that's going to go the opposite directionbecause no rain in the forecast really for the rest of the monthand even long range guidance for November first chance of showers is iffy and best.So numbers in the 40s for that walk early this morning,a bit chilly out there, getting up to 64 by the time we get to the middayhour and again most of the days just full sunshine we'll see a few littlefair weather clouds trying to come into place you look out to the east as we getcloser to five six o'clock or so 43 into North Hills right now at that light
02:12northeasterly breeze that's one degree warmer than yesterday Lewisburg at34 also 34 and Sanford and Roxburgh 36 might see some patchy areas of frost outthere this morning look who's in town Clint Black tonight at Deepak walking in mid60s a little cool though when you have back to your cartemperatures getting back down to the mid-50s. Coming up as we look to next week, yeah, more of the same.More nice weather. I'll have all the details on that coming up in a few minutes, Hannah.Well, Steve, we started out pretty busy in the traffic department. We do have a fatal crash in Durham.Sean Coffey's going to talk about that in just a moment. But let's take a live look outside at the DOT cameras as well.
02:50This is the backups that we're seeing because of that fatal crash in Durham.Again, Sean Coffey will have more on that in just a moment.5-03, we're in the breaking news center right now with more on that deadly crash on I-40.It happened overnight in Durham County near Davis Drive in Miami Boulevard.Eastbound lanes remain closed right now as authorities investigate.We've got Sean Coffey on the scene.He's nearby.Sean, what can you tell us?
03:15Yeah, Joel, good morning.Well, you can see the impacts from that crash as traffic's being diverted on the Davis Drive at exit 280.There's starting to see a large backup here as investigators remain on scene collecting evidence with that road.still shut down.And when our breaking news crew arrived on scene, we found more than a dozen DPD officerseither blocking I-40 eastbound or scanning the road for evidence.There were several evidence markers on the road as well.There's also a vehicle pulled over to the side of the highway with its hazard lights on.
03:43That's down past where this road closure is along I-40 eastbound.When we got here, I can tell you based on what we've seen, DPD has also put up screensaround the impact point further down I-40 eastbound, which is only typically the roaddone when a crash scene is particularly graphic.For now, we're still waiting on more information from DPD about the nature of the crashand the victims.Obviously, there are going to be major traffic concerns as the morning commute picks up as well.Just based on where we were a half hour ago versus now you can see a backup starting to form
04:14on the highway.So we'll continue to keep you posted with the very latest and how it might impact your morning commute.Back to you.Yeah, still really early and already seeing those break lights.Sean, thank you.And we are on verdict launch in the faith Hedgepeth murder trial.after 14 years of mystery surrounding the Carolina students brutal killing.The case against Miguel Salgaro Olivares is now in the jury's hands.
04:35Deliberations will resume in a matter of hours.Cindy Bay is live at the Durham County Courthouse with the latest.Cindy, good morning.Good morning.Well, jurors will now weigh the evidence including DNA and fingerprint reports that they requested before breaking yesterday.An expert says that those details could be key to their decision.Ollivarez faces four charges in Hedgepeth's 2012 murder, first degree burglary, sexual offense, rape and murder.In closing arguments, prosecutors pointed to DNA evidence and Ollivarez's fingerprints on bottles.
05:10The state also presented its motive theory, alleging Olivares became upset and embarrassed after Hedgepeth rejected his advances outside their Chapel Hill apartment.That's a big question mark.This theory, based on the evidence that I've heard, is not supported by any of the evidence that was presented.Jurors will recall that they didn't hear any witness testify to this.We spoke with NC Central Law Professor Irv Joyner, who says that jurors may have questions about the strength of the DNA evidence.The defense argued investigators missed or mishandled evidence, urging jurors to consider what else may have.have been overlooked. Now, Joyner expects jurors to take their time and says deliberationcould extend beyond today, but we're going to continue following the case on the trial on eyewitness
06:05news and come back to you, back to you. Cindy Bay at the Durham County Courthouse for Cindy.Thank you. Now to vote 2026, Roy Cooper campaigning in Carborough today, the Democratic Senatecandidate hosting a get-out-the-vote concert tonight at the new Katz cradle on Brewer Lane.Several local bands are on the bill, and Governor Stein and State Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls are expected as well.Cooper is locked in a battleground race with Republican Michael Watley, the former governor, weighing in last night.We're glad that people are turning out to vote. I think people are very frustrated that their paychecks are not keeping up with the cost of living, and they're frustrated that Washington, not only is not doing anything about it, they're making it so much worse with the chaotic tariffs and with this war in Iran.and they're frustrated and wanted to show that they want to do something about it.For his part, Watley was campaigning with President Trump in Greenville earlier this week before a stop in the Sand Hills.
07:00Recent polls showed Cooper in the lead.An early voting push happening tomorrow in Nightdale.Voters will march from the Nightdale High School to the rec center, a major early voting site in the area.Organizers say this is a nonpartisan event focused on bringing the community together, encouraging civic engagement and increasing voter participation.Democrats are dominating early voting in North Carolina.New numbers reveal more than a million in-person ballots have been cast as of this week.More than 51,000 absentee ballots have been counted so far with most coming from registered Democrats.Our partners at the news and observers say this is a 38% increase from this time during the last midterms in 2022.
07:41Time now, 507 on your Friday.New changes in carry after that scathing audit report revealed wasteful spending.everything we know about the new town manager coming up later this hour.Plus, it's your last chance to visit the state fair.Who's making a pit stop today coming up. Good morning, Steve.Hey, good morning, Anna Joel. Good morning, everybody. It's chilly out there.Temperatures are in the 30s and some lower 40s. Sanford, Lewisburg at 34.Lewisburg wasn't freezing. Probably seeing some areas of frost out there for this morning.
08:08But a nice afternoon with plenty of sunshine. Just a few fair weather clouds and low 70s.More of the same tomorrow. All the details coming up.I-40 eastbound still an issue right now near Davis Drive because of that fatal crash.Sean Coffey's staying on top of that for us.Now let's take a look at those traffic hotspots brought to you by the Fred Anderson family of dealerships on Glendwood Avenue.Fred Anderson Toyota, Fred Anderson Kia, Fred Anderson Nissan,all home of the Fred Anderson family plan, including lifetime oil changes,lifetime car washes on all new Toyota's Kia's Nissan's and hundreds of used cars.
08:39The Fred Anderson family plan saves your family thousands while giving you lasting value with every mile you drive.Thinking of selling or trading your current vehicle, Fred Anderson wants to pay you more even if you don't buy from us.Get the family plan at Fred Anderson, Toyota, Fred Anderson Kia, and Fred Anderson, Nissan, all on Glenwood Avenue.Welcome back, everybody. Good morning to you. It's Friday. We made it to the end of the week, and we're looking fantastic.Again, lots of sunshine. Maybe if you fare weather clouds as you look out to the east later today.Upper 60s, Roxburgh, 70 in the triangle and low 70s down around Fayetteville, there's some of those clouds just offshore.some of them try to move in a little bit later on today. But that's it. I mean, generally going to be a beautiful day today. A little cool as you take the pups out for a walk this morning, 40s early on, 56 by 10 a.m. midday will get to the mid-60s and lots of sunshine. Not too much of a breeze today, but you'll probably notice it at times. Right now it's a northeast light breeze under fair skies out there at 43 degrees. But look at all the 30s like Lewisburg, Sanford, Seiler City, and Burlington at Roxburgh. All these areas might see a little bit Apache frost.out there as well. Breaking Benjamin Walnut Creek, last show of the season, getting down to the 50s under clear skies.
09:54A little cool tonight for sure, no matter what you have planned. East Coast travel looks fantastic.Chicago's good, Dallas, Denver will be fine. Intermountain West is going to get rain and mountain snow there.Up the bitter routes, L.A., some clouds at about 68. So far all the major hubs this morning looking good.Got you seven day in just a few minutes, Joel. All right, we'll see you then, Steve.Happening today, Booze It and Lose It is gearing up for Halloween. Law enforcement leaders,will lay out the plan this morning at the state fairgrounds.Starting Monday, you can expect to see more officers on the road across the state through November 1st.The message, if you're headed to a Halloween party, plan a sober ride home.
10:31Legends Nightclub kicking off a new era in downtown Raleigh.The longtime LGBTQ-plus venue is holding events all weekend for its official grand opening at the new location on Cabarris Street.Legends spent 35 years at its original location on Harget Street before closing its doors last week.events and performances kick off tonight. Time is 513 on your Friday. A new flock camerafallout in Apex. The police chief revealing big changes to the town's policy. We will hearfrom him after the break. Plus part of a main highway on the Outer Banks washed away duringthe latest nor'easter. New images just in showing the aftermath. Stay with us for updates.And a reminder, you can find eyewitness news live on ABC 11, Disney Plus, and everywhere you stream.
11:17516. A judge wants President Trump under oath. A Florida.a judge ordered him to sit for a deposition by December 11th in his $10 billion defamation lawsuitagainst the BBC. At issue, a BBC documentary that spliced together parts of a speech he gavebefore the January 6th Capitol riot. The network admits it edited the clips together but saysthat's not defamation. Developing in Wake County, two young people are in custody and two othersare on the run this morning after a chase ended in a major crash. Deputies say they triedpulling over a stolen vehicle on Nightdale Boulevard and Wendell yesterday.afternoon. The driver allegedly sped away from the scene hitting an SUV and a tractor trailer on 540 and I-87.
11:58In Durham, a drug trafficking ring busted at a new business. Authorities say they found 77 poundsof an illegal drug during an inspection at Walltown Mini Mark on Guess Road. ALE agents say theydiscovered the drug known as Cot, cat, which officials say has effects similar to cocaine andmethamphetamine. Mohamed Ahmed A Salid says.has been arrested and charged with multiple felony drug offenses in connection to this case.New fallout over flock cameras in Apex.The police chief telling eyewitness news, his department no longer shares its flock data nationwide.Under new limits, it only goes to North Carolina departments and four surrounding states.
12:39Chief Ryan Johansson says he understands the privacy concerns.And as a police chief, I share that concern because I don't have as much influence or control over officers and other agencies accessing.data from Apex, plain and simple. And I don't have a whole lot of teeth in the event that they use it in a way that I wouldn't approve of.In a statement to the I team, Flock says customers own their data and decide who sees it. The company says it does not sell data and every search can be audited.It also says audit assistance will be required for all law enforcement customers by the end of 2026.Apex police are pointing residents to their flock camera transparency page where you can see their policies and usage data.Four first responders from Sanford have been recognized as hometown heroes by the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association.Two members of the Sanford Police Department and two from the Sanford Fire Department were honored during a ceremony in Fugue Arena.
13:32Sanford Police officers M. Hogan and P. Hanson were nominated for their response to a house fire in August where they raced into a burning home to rescue an elderly resident.Sanford Fire Captain Clay Vaughn was recognized for his actions after responding to a car crash in June where he helped multiple.injured victims and provided life-saving care to a child.And finally, Fire Battalion Chief Lonnie Kiker was honored for his legacy in selfless serviceto the Sanford community, having retired in July after 35 years with the fire department.The countdown is now on the Raleigh Christmas Parade less than a month away.The 82nd annual Crossroads Ford, ABC 11, Raleigh Christmas Parade presented by Shop LocalRaleigh kicks off Saturday morning, November 21st.
14:18at 930. Expect all your favorite sights and sounds of the season. We are proud to serve again as the presenting sponsor. So if you can't make it downtown, you can watch it right here on ABC 11, Hulu or wherever you stream ABC 11.Looking forward to it again. It's the most wonderful time of the year. Hopefully we have weather the way we have the last week, Steve. Well, that's a that's a long ways out. I'll try. You know I just noticed though Anna? No. Joel's socks. Those are slick. Yeah. Look at those.I wish you guys could see me. I'm rolling my eyes.She is. Yeah, we can feel it too.Thank you, Steve.Absolutely. Outside right now, it is chilly out there.So, Mary is getting down close to freezing.After that chili start, it's going to be a wonderful afternoon.
15:00And again, getting chilly as we head into the evening hours.Weekend at the fair looks good, seasonal, bright.Be a few clouds around, maybe a little breezy at times.And then where's the rain?I expected to be dry all the way through the rest of the month through Halloween.And the drought, again, we have severe drought at many locations.and also extreme drought in a few of our northern counties as well.We need to get more rain.
15:22It's just not in the cars anytime soon.Lake Mickey is almost 11 feet below full pool.Car Lake about 12.Falls Lake now down to around six or so.So again, we need to get some rain in here.There's not a huge demand this time of year on the reservoirs,but still nonetheless.There's our little tiny surplus, which is going to go away because we don't have any rain.
15:41At least it's not as bad as it was the last two months.We've got some clouds offshore right now,And that flow coming here from the Northeast, we'll see a few fair weather clouds developing and moving into our eastern counties,but most of us just dealing with sunshine.Chili at the bus stop this morning, pretty nice when the kids come home, 70 degrees and plenty of sunshine around.Here's some of those clouds we were talking about to try to make it along that 95 corridor a little bit later on today into the evening.43 to North Hills with a light breeze right now.That's a degree warmer than this time yesterday, but look at all the 30s.
16:12Roxburgh, 34, 35, Silo City, freezing in Sanford.Lewisburg at 36 degrees. So patchy areas of frost, a pretty good possibility in some of these colder spots.The last show at Red Hat before they moved to the new location.Steve Lacey in town near 60 at start time, getting down to the mid-50s under clear skies.A little bit chilly no matter what you have planned tonight.We'll climb to the upper 60s to near 70 tomorrow out at the state fair.Lots of sunshine for you.It should be a pleasant day out there and it could be a little breezy at time.
16:42Similar set up Sunday, maybe a degree or two warmer.Then as we go into Monday, rinse and repeat, again, high pressure just off to our north.It's going to keep that front well to the north, so our quiet weather will continue.Up in the mountains, if you want to see some of the autumn colors, it's beautiful up there right now.Good weekend for that.And the beaches will be in the low 70s, still a bit breezy in the southern beaches, but still should be a quiet weather.Upper 60s to around 70 in the triangle, low 70s in the sand hills.A couple clouds as you look to the east late today.
17:12And then for tonight, clear skies, getting cold.close about three days away from the hunters full moon.Numbers will be in the lower to middle 40s, upper 40s in the sand hills.First of the late, seven day then, 68 tomorrow.Again, a sun cloud mix at times.A few clouds around on Sunday.RDC marathons should be fine.Last day of the state fair and really good conditions for tailgating for the canes next Tuesday.
17:35Okay, Steve, so the road's starting out busy.Overall picture does look good.So that's great news, but we do want to take you live to breaking news one right now.We've been on the scene all morning at 40 eastbound near Davis Drive.We do have what appears to be a fatal crash there, shutting down lanes on I-40 eastbound.Again, this is at Davis Drive.You can see that bumper-to-bumper traffic.I assume this is only going to get worse as we continue to work our way through this morning commute with more and more people hitting the roads.
18:03We'll be right back after the break.526 in Apple's first foldable device.The iPhone Duo goes on sale today, drawing eager customers and some long lines worldwide.Here's ABC's Hannah Battow with this morning's Techbytes.In today's TechBites, long lines have been forming at Apple stores around the world today.For the release of the foldable iPhone duo, some folks have been waiting in line for more than 15 hours.The duo costs around $2,000.Someone in Florida even set up a hammock in line.
18:34Early reviews call the phone sturdy, but some question whether it's too complicated.Uber is expanding its partnership with OpenAI, rolling out chat GPT to all 30,000 of its employees.It's the business version, Chad GPT work, an AI agent that does research,data analytics, and presentations.Ed Spotify is cracking down on family plan sharing.One verification tool is said to be a QR code to make sure users are all in the same household.Members will be prompted to scan a code that appears on the plan manager's phone.They'll have seven days to respond or lose access.
19:09Those are your tech bites. I'm Hannah Bata.This weekend, runners from across the country will descend on Durham for the RDC Marathon.The race supports the Team Dreia Foundation, which funds bold and innovative research to find a cure or effective treatment for ALS.The course includes parts of the streets at South Point, the city of Durham, and the American Tobacco Trail.It's a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.At last check, there are still some spots available for the marathon, half marathon, the 10K and the 5K.ABC 11, proud to be sponsoring this year's RDC Marathon, right back at 530.
There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click any sentence in the transcript to leave one.