One cyclist was killed and at least 12 others were injured when a driver suspected of being impaired plowed into a group of cyclists in North Carolina, officials said.
Donald Robert Morris-Jones, 76, was driving on Optimist Farm Road in Wake County on Saturday morning when he crossed the center line and struck the group of cyclists, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said. The incident happened about 14 miles southwest of Raleigh.
After it struck the group, the vehicle traveled away from the scene, then ran off the left side of the roadway and crashed into a ditch a half-mile from the cyclists, officials said.
The Highway Patrol responded to the scene just after 9:30 a.m.
One cyclist died as a result of the crash, and at least a dozen more were hurt, authorities said. Their injuries range from minor to serious, and several were taken to hospitals for treatment.
The Highway Patrol identified the deceased victim as Patrick Allen Turner, 63, of Cary, North Carolina. He and the other cyclists were part of the Capital Cycling Club.
The club extended condolences to Turner’s loved ones in a statement Sunday.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of sorrow and mourning,” it said. “He was a strong, consistent, reliable and considerate rider.”
Morris-Jones was arrested and charged with death by vehicle, seven counts of serious injury by vehicle, eight counts of hit and run, driving while impaired, reckless driving and driving left of center, according to the Highway Patrol. He was being held in the Wake County Detention Center on $1 million bail.
“Impairment is suspected to be a factor in the crash,” the agency said.
Capital Cycling Club, which has operated for over 30 years and hosts Saturday group rides, said: “We are all in shock by the senseless decision by the individual that caused the collision.”
“This horrific event was no accident. As far as we know, the individual made a decision to drive in a way that put others in grave and mortal peril,” the club said. “We do not think there was any possible way the driver did not know that he had collided with the group. He chose at that moment to keep driving away from the scene leaving mass carnage in his wake.”
The club said it is working with law enforcement in the investigation. It also thanked first responders for being on the scene within minutes and preventing further loss of life.