On Tuesday evening during the height of evening rush hour traffic, a pedestrian was struck and killed near at the intersection Clark Avenue and Pogue Street. A Ford pickup truck struck the pedestrian in a crosswalk, who has now been identified as an NC State assistant professor, 41-year-old Natalia Duque-Wilckens, according to reports by WRAL, ABC11 and CBS17.

Police were called to the scene last night around 6:10 p.m. where they found Duque-Wilckens lying in the road with significant injuries. Duque-Wilckens was transported to the hospital where she later died.

She was an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at NC State.

In an email statement provided to Technician, Lauren Barker, senior media relations strategist for NC State, offered condolences and support to those affected by the loss.

 “We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague Natalia Duque-Wilckens, and our thoughts are with her family and friends. Support and resources are being provided to those in our community impacted by this loss,” the statement reads.

According to her bio posted on the university department’s website, her research centered around “identifying novel neuro-mechanisms that underlie emotional regulation. Through her research she hoped to “create new therapeutic tools for the prevention and/or treatment of depression and anxiety.”

Duque-Wilckens earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Chile in 2010 and her Ph.D in Animal Behavior from the University of California at Davis in 2017. She had been a professor at NC State since 2022. 

The driver of the vehicle was 19-year-old Jack Etheridge of Waxhaw, N.C., who remained on the scene and was unharmed after the incident. He has been charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, as well as failure to yield causing serious bodily injury. 

The Raleigh Police Department is continuing the investigation.

This is a developing story.