Family of Duke University employee killed in 143 mph DWI crash gets final answer in case

DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — A family fighting for justice got their final answer after over three years.

That’s how long it’s been since 26-year-old Daniel Watt, a Duke University employee, was killed in a Durham car crash. Watt died after he was thrown from a Lyft when it was rear-ended on the Durham Freeway back in 2021. The district attorney said the man charged was driving while intoxicated and going about 143 miles per hour.

Family and friends were emotional at the Durham County Courthouse Monday after fighting for the former Duke residence coordinator.

“You are not God,” Watt’s father Eugene said during court. “You don’t have a right to choose who lives and dies. You killed my son.”

A sentence was finally announced for the man who caused Watt’s death.

“You don’t expect to hear them die when they’re on the phone with you,” said Watt’s fiancée Elizabeth Greenlee, recounting the moment Watt was killed.

On Monday, defendant Gregory Coley was sentenced six to to eight years in prison after he pled guilty to felony death by motor vehicle. Coley agreed to a plea deal that reduced his charges from second-degree murder.

“We are happy that this chapter is closed,” Watt’s brother Eugene II said. “We are not satisfied with the result.”

Coley spoke to the victim’s family for the first time.

“I want to sincerely apologize for my actions that led to the action and I am profoundly sorry for the pain and heartache that it’s caused your family,” Coley said.

A statement from Durham County District Attorney Satana DeBerry reads in part: ‘This resolution is in line with the evidence, the law, and similar cases and ensures Mr. Coley is held accountable for his irresponsible and dangerous actions.”

“The defendant will have six to eight years of jail time,” Eugene II said. “That seems really light, given the charges that were levied against him.”

Family members of Watt have said many times that the district attorney did not notify them of the plea deal beforehand. But the D.A.’s office told CBS 17 that they had hours of communication last year.

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