36°09′N 78°31′W · 7 counties
Personal Injury Attorney for the Triangle Counties Outside Wake
If you were hurt in a crash anywhere in the Triangle outside Wake, Orange and Chatham counties, I can come to you. We start with a phone or video call. After that I meet you in person where you are, and we decide in that meeting whether to work together.
This page covers Durham, Johnston and the counties that run north to the Virginia line. Raleigh and all of Wake County are covered by accidentattorneyraleighnc.com, and Orange and Chatham are covered by juliandoby.com.
Below I set out the interstates that carry these counties, why your home county can matter more than the crash county, which site to start on, the designated trauma centers in and around Durham, how Troop C and the NCDMV handle crash reports here, and how the first conversation works.
01
I-85 to Virginia, I-885 in Durham and three interstates in Johnston
I-85 north from Durham to the Virginia line
Interstate 85 is the main road through the northern half of this region. It enters Durham County at the Orange County line and continues through Granville, Vance and Warren to the Virginia state line. In Durham, I-885 follows the East End Connector and links I-85 to I-40 without a stoplight.
Granville County counts six exits on I-85, and the county notes that the road ties into I-40 and I-95. Each of those exits puts merging traffic into interstate lanes.
In a ramp crash on I-85, I want to know first who had the lane and when.
Johnston County, on I-95, I-40 and I-42
Three interstates cross Johnston County. I-95 runs through it, and NCDOT widened I-40 from I-440 in Raleigh to Cornwallis Road in Clayton and converted the N.C. 42 interchange, now Exit 312A, into a diverging diamond. A segment of U.S. 70 in Johnston carries the Interstate 42 designation, and NCDOT describes that corridor as heavily used for moving freight.
A crash with a tractor-trailer on one of these roads is a different case from a crash between two cars. I explain why on the truck accident page.
02
Can a Vance County commuter hurt in Johnston file at home?
A Vance County commuter hurt in Johnston County can usually file at home. North Carolina's general venue statute, G.S. 1-82, places the trial in a county where any plaintiff or any defendant lives when the case is filed, so the county of the crash does not control it.
The county where you live
Your home county is a proper place under G.S. 1-82. If the other driver came down I-85 from Virginia and lives there, a North Carolina case is tried in the county where you live.
The county where the other driver lives
The other driver's county is also a proper place. A Durham driver who caused a crash in Granville can be sued in Durham.
Exception. A court keeps the power to move a trial. Under G.S. 1-83, a judge can change the place of trial when the county named is not the proper one, or when the convenience of witnesses and the ends of justice would be promoted by the change.
03
Wake, Orange or Chatham residents start on a different site
The site to start on is the one for the county where you live, not the county where the crash happened.
| Where you live | Where to start |
|---|---|
| Wake County, including Raleigh | accidentattorneyraleighnc.com |
| Orange or Chatham County | juliandoby.com |
| Durham, Johnston, Person, Granville, Vance, Warren or Franklin | This page |
Start here if you live in one of the seven counties on this page, even when the crash happened on the Wake side of a county line. All three sites reach the same attorney.
04
Duke's Level I center in Durham and three designated neighbors
Duke University Hospital in Durham is on the North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services list of designated trauma centers as a Level I center, with an initial designation in 1982. The same list names three more centers in Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Cary.
| Hospital, as the state lists it | City | Level, as listed |
|---|---|---|
| Duke University Hospital | Durham | Level I |
| WakeMed Health & Hospitals, Raleigh Campus | Raleigh | Level I |
| University of NC (UNC) Hospitals | Chapel Hill | Level I |
| WakeMed Cary Hospital | Cary | Level III |
This table shows where the state's designated centers are. It does not say which hospital any one injured person is taken to.
05
Getting a Triangle crash report from Troop C or the NCDMV
A North Carolina crash report comes from two places, the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles and the agency that investigated. Under G.S. 20-166.1(e), the investigating officer writes the report within 24 hours, a State Highway Patrol officer sends it to the Division, and a local agency forwards each report it receives to the Division within 10 days.
Troop C covers six of the seven counties
Where a crash happened matters more than the type of road in deciding which agency responds. In an NCDPS Safety Scoop interview, a Patrol first sergeant said a crash outside city limits typically falls to the State Highway Patrol, and a city with its own police department most likely responds inside its limits.
| Patrol troop | Headquarters | Counties on this page |
|---|---|---|
| Troop C | Raleigh | Durham, Granville, Johnston, Vance, Warren, Franklin |
| Troop D | Greensboro | Person, grouped with Caswell |
Check the Patrol's collision search
The NCDPS Collision Information page searches crashes the Patrol investigated since May 16, 2013, by county, name or report number. NCDPS says a report can take up to 48 hours to enter the system.
Fill out NCDMV form TR-67A
The form asks for the driver's name and license number, the date of the crash and the county of the crash. Individuals cannot order a crash report online.
Take it to Raleigh Central Services
The Division takes requests in person at 4121 New Bern Ave. in Raleigh, where a request for five records or fewer is filled on the spot. The Division asks for ten business days on a mailed request.
The fee G.S. 20-42(b) sets for a certified copy of an accident report is $6.50. A person involved in the crash who orders from the Division receives a redacted copy, with some personal details hidden.
06
Meeting at a Granville kitchen table or a Durham hospital room
After the first phone or video conversation, I come to you, whether that means a kitchen table in Granville County or a hospital room in Durham. Nothing about that meeting depends on what kind of case you have.
Nothing about that meeting depends on what kind of case you have.
We talk it through in person, and that is where we decide whether to work together. How it works walks through each step.
07
Your first conversation from Durham or Johnston County
Call my office in Graham at 336-221-8900 or write to julian@juliandobylaw.com to set up the first conversation. If Spanish is easier, ask for Lorena Meza, the paralegal on our staff who speaks Spanish.
City pages
Triangle cities with their own pages
Each city page names its police department, its courthouse and its newest crash figures, with a page on getting the crash report.
| County | Courthouse | Superior Court district | District Court district | People killed, 2024 | Yearly average, 2014 to 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | Durham County Courthouse 510 South Dillard St, Durham, NC 27701 | 16 | 16 | 34 | 31 |
| Franklin | Franklin County Courthouse 102 S Main St., Louisburg, NC 27549 | 11 | 11 | 18 | 14 |
| Granville | Granville County Courthouse 101 Main St., Oxford, NC 27565 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 15 |
| Johnston | Johnston County Courthouse 207 E Johnston St, Smithfield, NC 27577 | 13 | 12 | 42 | 36 |
| Person | Person County Courthouse 105 S Main St, Roxboro, NC 27573 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 6 |
| Vance | Vance County Courthouse 156 Church St, Suite 101, Henderson, NC 27536 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 11 |
| Warren | Warren County Courthouse 109 S Main St, Warrenton, NC 27589 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 7 |
Courthouses and districts: North Carolina Judicial Branch, verified October 18, 2026; districts as realigned January 1, 2024. Deaths: 2024 North Carolina Traffic Crash Facts, NCDMV, table "Fatalities by County: 10 Year Trend," the newest edition posted; the printed yearly average covers 2014 to 2023. A case is not always filed in the county where the crash happened.
All 100 counties · from the Graham office
Triangle on the map
Tap a highlighted county for its card, or any county in the state.
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About the attorney
Julian Doby, attorney since 1998
Julian Doby has been admitted to practice in North Carolina since 1998, North Carolina State Bar No. 25407, and he represents injured people across the state. His one office is at 110 W. Elm Street in Graham. He meets clients across the state after a first conversation by phone or video.
More about JulianSources and verification (20)
- NCDOT, Final Paving on East End Connector and I-885 designation, June 3, 2022, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDOT, Improvements coming to I-85 in Durham County, April 29, 2024, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDOT, I-85 rehabilitation milestone in Vance and Warren counties, November 16, 2018, verified October 18, 2026.
- Granville County Government, Infrastructure and Transportation, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDOT, I-40 Widening, I-440 to N.C. 42, project highlights, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDOT, I-95 Corridor Improvements, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDOT, Interstate 42 Coming to U.S. 70 Corridor, March 16, 2022, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDOT, U.S. 70 Corridor Improvements, verified October 18, 2026.
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 1-82, venue in all other cases, ncleg.gov, verified October 18, 2026.
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 1-83, change of venue, ncleg.gov, verified October 18, 2026.
- NC Office of Emergency Medical Services, designated trauma centers list (page updated August 26, 2026), verified October 18, 2026.
- NC Office of Emergency Medical Services, North Carolina Trauma Center Contacts (document dated July 2025), used for hospital cities only, verified October 18, 2026.
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 20-166.1(e) and (i), ncleg.gov, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDPS, Safety Scoop transcript, SHP Answers Top Questions from Motorists, Season 4, Episode 2, verified October 18, 2026.
- NC State Highway Patrol, Troop C, Raleigh, verified October 18, 2026.
- NC State Highway Patrol, Troop D, Greensboro, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDPS, State Highway Patrol Collision Information, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDMV, Form TR-67A, Request for Motor Vehicle Information (Crash Reports), revised July 1, 2024, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDMV, Crash Reports, verified October 18, 2026.
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 20-42(b), ncleg.gov, verified October 18, 2026.
Talk first. Then I can come to you.
Call or send a visit request. We start by phone or video.