Motorcycles in pack crash, killing 2
A 19-year-old student at St. Aug's and a man from Raleigh die in the Nash County collision

A St. Augustine's College student and a Raleigh man died Saturday evening after two motorcycles collided on U.S. 64 in Nash County.

State Highway Patrol Sgt. J.D. Dodson said the accident occurred about 6:30 p.m. in the westbound lane near the town of Momeyer, about five miles west of Nashville.

A 2005 Suzuki motorcycle driven by Alexander Wilson, 43, of Raleigh collided with a 2006 Honda bike driven by Earnest Powell Jr., 17, of Knightdale, Dodson said.

The crash killed Wilson and a female passenger riding with Powell, 19-year-old Zakira Gatling. Dodson said Gatling was a St. Augustine's College student from Paterson, N.J. Her family could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Powell was taken to WakeMed where he was in fair condition Sunday, according to hospital officials.

Authorities are still trying to determine what caused the two motorcycles to crash into each other. Wilson and Powell were riding with a pack of six to 10 bikes, Dodson said. Several other motorcycle riders suffered minor injuries after they avoided the accident and ended up in a ditch, he said.

Trooper T.S. Holloman said the group was heading back to Raleigh after visiting friends in Nash County.

Joyce Wilson, 43, said her husband and some friends were about to start a motorcycle club.

"He showed me the jackets they had just got," she said.

Alexander Wilson was a member of Lincoln Park Holiness Church in Raleigh and worked as a carrier for DHL, the shipping company, his wife said. He moved to North Carolina about 10 years ago from New York City.

Alexander Wilson suffered a bad motorcycle accident when he lived in New York City, Joyce Wilson said. He finally saved enough money to buy another motorcycle about a year ago, she said, which he used for long weekend rides.

"It was something he loved to do," she said.

Alexander Wilson leaves behind a daughter, a son and two stepsons.