On Monday, many friends and family members of Trooper Steven Perry shared heartfelt reflections and reverence for a community servant killed in the line of duty.
A wrong-way driver slammed into Perry's vehicle on the Durham Freeway. Both drivers died.
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Perry's body was transported with a law enforcement escort on Monday afternoon from the State Medical Examiner's Office in Raleigh to Fisher Funeral Parlor in Durham.
Perry's brother, Eli Clark, said his brother was someone who didn't seek out praise and instead stayed behind the scenes while serving his community.
"For him, it was never about publicity," Clark said of his late brother. "He was a guy who was always a person to get stuff done behind the scenes and seek no reward for it."
Perry and Melshawn Moore were killed in the crash. Moore was previously convicted of three separate DWIs.
Perry is also being remembered for being a beloved member of the North Carolina Central football team from 2014 to 2017. He played as an offensive lineman and started every game of his senior season. He graduated in 2018 and joined the Highway Patrol.
His final procession went by NCCU.
Perry was killed just before 3 a.m. Sunday. Investigators said the 39-year-old Moore of Kinston was driving the wrong way on the Durham Freeway when he collided with Perry.
Investigators believe Moore was intoxicated and, if so, it wouldn’t be his first time. He has three prior DWI convictions in North Carolina. The latest came in 2017. The state said Moore's driving privilege is permanently suspended for those three offenses. Moore is also suspended for failing to appear in court and other moving violations in Pitt and Lenoir counties.
Perry had been with the Highway Patrol for seven years and is being remembered for his love for his family and leadership, both in law enforcement and his time on the field with NCCU. His younger brother shared more about the significance of his passing from the family's perspective.
"For me, it's a little special, because he was never looking for that," Clark said. "The fact that it's there, and people are giving him his flowers like that, that means something to me."
Perry recently had a daughter, according to his brother. Eli Perry said he plans to tell her every day how much her father adored her.
Perry was 30 years old at the time of his death. NCCU football coach Trei Oliver said he's deciding how the program can honor Perry this fall.
Breaking down the dangers NC troopers face
In February, Master Trooper Stien Davis Jr. died in a crash.
Davis was on duty and patrolling in his car when he lost control, went off the roadway and overturned in a swampy roadside area on N.C. Highway 130 on Feb. 22.
Data from the State Highway Patrol shows that of the 73 line-of-duty deaths since the organization was founded in 1929:
- 43 have died in traffic-related incidents, including crashes, chases or getting hit by vehicles.
- 20 have died after being shot
- 10 have died from other causes, including plane, helicopter crashes and medical emergencies
Former Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison spent 26 years of his career with the State Highway Patrol. He said the data didn't surpise him.
Harrison said the nature of a trooper's job means exposure to more risk on the roads.
"It puts us in more of the danger zone, so to speak," Harrison said.
Harrison encouraged drivers to move over a lane if they see someone stopped on the side of the road.
WRAL News asked the State Highway Patrol about some of the strategies the agency uses to keep troopers safe. We have yet to hear back.
