A group of cyclists was winding its way through a wooded, two-lane road outside of Raleigh on Saturday morning when a car crossed the center line and plowed into them, killing one and injuring nearly two dozen, authorities said.
A North Carolina man faces several felony charges after allegedly hitting the group and driving away.
The cyclists were traveling together amid the fall colors along Optimist Farm Road, in Wake County, about 14 miles southwest of Raleigh, when an oncoming black passenger car crossed the center line and into the group, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.
The driver, later identified as 76-year-old Donald Robert Morris-Jones, continued driving before running off the left side of the roadway into a ditch, about a half-mile from where he hit the cyclists, authorities said.
Patrick Allen Turner, a 63-year-old cyclist from Cary, North Carolina, died in the crash, the highway patrol announced.
First responders found 22 others injured. Seven with more serious injuries were taken to regional trauma centers and 15 others were hospitalized, Chief LeRoy Smith of the Holly Springs Fire Department told CNN.
Morris-Jones, of Apex, North Carolina, was taken into custody and faces multiple charges, including hit-and-run causing serious injury or death, serious injury by a vehicle, and driving while impaired. He’s set to appear in court on Monday afternoon, court records show.
Although Morris-Jones does not appear to have a criminal record, he is considered an “overwhelming danger to society,” according to court records, and is under a $1 million bond.
Video of the aftermath of the crash showed law enforcement inspecting a stack of bikes propped up against a guardrail along the road. Some cyclists were still at the scene, video showed, including one man walking around with a phone to his ear, still wearing his bike helmet.
One of the cyclists told CNN affiliate WRAL they frequently ride along the route together as part of the Capital Cycling Club.
One of the oldest cycling clubs in North Carolina, the Capital Cycling Club has “a rich history of charity work while participating in a variety of cycling races and events across Mid-Atlantic region,” according to its website.
Shaun King from the nonprofit Bike Durham spoke to WRAL about the crash, calling it a “harrowing day for everyone in the cycling community.” He said he has ridden with the Capital Cycling Club before and has friends in the group, “so I’m nervously waiting to find out how connected I am to this particular experience.”
King said Turner and other cyclists will be remembered in a candlelight vigil on Bike Durham’s World Day of Remembrance, a day to remember pedestrians and cyclists killed in crashes, on November 15.
Another local cycling club, Team CBC, canceled their Sunday ride “Out of respect for the rider that was killed and all those who were injured,” offering their thoughts and prayers to those involved in the crash, according to a Facebook post.
Lin Osbourne told WRAL he is a member of the Capital Cycling Club and often rides with the cyclists that Morris-Jones is accused of striking, although he was not with them on Saturday.
“When things like this happen, it’s just a reminder that no matter how much we police ourselves, there are circumstances that are well beyond our control,” Osbourne said, adding that he has been road cycling for decades and intends to continue riding while taking precautions.
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