Sleeping woman dies after driver runs stop sign and plows into bedroom, NC officials say

A driver has been sentenced to more than five years in prison after he pleaded guilty in connection with a fatal crash into a woman’s apartment, according to North Carolina prosecutors.

Walter Wade Ange, 24, ran a stop sign and plowed into a woman’s bedroom as she slept with her fiancé early on Dec. 4, 2021, in Wilmington, according to a news release from District Attorney Benjamin R. David. Kelley L. Prince, 48, was pinned between her bed and Ange’s car, the release says.

“She was initially conscious after the crash but succumbed to her injuries” at a hospital, the release says.

Ange fled the scene and left his dog there, according to the district attorney’s office. Investigators identified him as a suspect and arrested him on Dec. 7, 2021. After interviewing witnesses about his behavior before and after the crash, investigators determined that he was impaired at the time, the release says.

Ange pleaded guilty on May 15 to felony death by motor vehicle, felony serious injury by motor vehicle, felony hit and run causing death, felony hit and run causing injury, reckless driving to endanger and failure to stop at a stop sign, the release says.

A judge sentenced him to a minimum of 70 months in prison followed by four years of supervised probation, according to the district attorney’s office. The judge also ordered Ange to serve two nights in jail each year on the anniversary of Prince’s death during his probation.

An attorney for Ange could not be found online.

Loved ones described Prince as “passionate, selfless and giving,” according to her obituary.

She had two sons and worked in the hospitality industry for over two decades, the obituary says. In 2018, she moved to Wilmington and got a job at a treatment clinic for people recovering from addiction.

“If you were fortunate enough to know Kelley, you were fortunate enough,” the obituary says. “Her smile and laugh were contagious and her kindness and generosity never mistaken. For all who loved her and are overwhelmed by this loss, remember that although the space between heaven and earth may seem insurmountable; Kelley’s love for life and her people, transcends all distance and time.”

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