Former College Basketball Star Dies in Bus Crash. Lorenzo Charles, star of 1983 NCAA basketball champions, killed in bus accident. Former NC State star killed in bus crash. ... 1983 file photo shows North Carolina State's Lorenzo Charles … Lorenzo Charles dunks to give North Carolina State a 54-52 win over Houston in the 1983 NCAA championship game in Albuquerque, N.M. Charles dies in a bus crash at the age of 47. wls. Raleigh, NC — Former Atlanta Hawks player Lorenzo Charles was killed Tuesday afternoon when the commercial bus he was driving on Interstate 40 in Raleigh, North Carolina, suddenly veered off the road and crashed. Lorenzo Charles, a forward on North Carolina State's 1983 national championship basketball team, was killed on Monday when the bus he was driving on Interstate 40 in Raleigh crashed. He was working as a driver for Elite Coach when the accident occurred. Lorenzo Charles, hero of N.C. State's 1983 NCAA Basketball Tournament win, dies in bus crash. Hero Of N.C. State's '83 Championship Killed In Bus Crash : The Two-Way VIDEO: Lorenzo Charles scoring the winning basket for coach Jim Valvano's "cardiac kids." Updated Mar 22, 2019; Posted Jun 28, 2011 . Former North Carolina State basketball player Lorenzo Charles died Monday afternoon in a bus crash on Interstate 40 just west of Raleigh, NC. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Lorenzo Charles, the muscular forward whose last-second dunk gave underdog North Carolina State a stunning win in the … Facebook Share. … The player who sealed the victory with a last-second dunk, Lorenzo Charles, died Monday when the bus he was driving crashed into some trees in West Raleigh, N.C. Former North Carolina State basketball player Lorenzo Charles, known for his winning dunk in the 1983 National Championship, died Tuesday in Raleigh. ... Lorenzo Charles was 47. According to the News Observer, the 47-year-old Charles was driving an Elite Tours charter bus westbound on I-40 when he lost control at an exit and slammed into a stand of trees. Updated Jan 03, 2019; Posted Jun 28, 2011 . Twitter Share. Lorenzo Charles, whose buzzer-beating dunk won the 1983 college basketball championship for North Carolina State, died yesterday when a bus he was driving crashed in Raleigh, North Carolina.