A 76-year-old man has been charged after allegedly driving into a group of cyclists in North Carolina, killing one rider and injuring 20 others.
Donald Robert Morris-Jones, of Apex, is accused of being impaired when his black Infiniti crossed the centre line on Optimist Farm Road near Talicud Trail, in Wake County, at about 9.40am on Saturday.
The cyclists, members of the Capital Cycling Club, were riding in a group of about 30 when the car struck them. Patrick Turner, 63, from Cary, died at the scene.
North Carolina cycling crash
Seven of the injured riders suffered serious injuries and 13 sustained minor injuries, according to Holly Springs fire chief LeRoy Smith. A Wake County Emergency Medical Services bus was used to help transport casualties to hospitals, while some people were treated at the scene.
Investigators said Morris-Jones continued driving for about half a mile after hitting the cyclists before leaving the road and coming to a stop in a ditch. He is also accused of attempting to flee the scene.
He has been charged with driving while impaired, felony death by vehicle, seven counts of felony serious injury by vehicle, eight counts of hit-and-run, reckless driving and driving left of the centre line.
Morris-Jones was being held at the Wake County Detention Centre on a $1 million secured bond. Court documents state that he has no previous criminal record.
Authorities have not said whether alcohol, drugs or medication is suspected to have caused his impairment. A spokesperson for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said the department could not speculate and that further details were expected in the final crash report.
A 911 caller told dispatchers: “A vehicle just hit 15 to 20 pedestrians. The driver is currently out stumbling around at this time.”
The crash happened on a wooded, two-lane road around 14 miles from Raleigh. Optimist Farm Road was closed while emergency crews worked at the scene but has since reopened.
Lin Osbourne, a cyclist who regularly rides with the group but was not present on Saturday, said the incident had highlighted the dangers faced by people using the roads.
“No matter how much we police ourselves, there are circumstances that are well beyond our control,” he told WRAL.
He said cyclists hoped motorists would treat them as people rather than “obstacles” and make road safety a priority.
Shaun King, from the cycling organisation Bike Durham, described the crash as a harrowing day for the local cycling community. He said Mr Turner and other cyclists would be remembered at a candlelit vigil on November 15, held as part of a day of remembrance for pedestrians and cyclists killed in road crashes.
