One Cyclist Killed, at Least 20 Injured After Impaired Driver Hits Group Ride in North Carolina

A driver accused of being impaired crossed the center line on a two-lane road outside Raleigh on Saturday morning and plowed into a group of cyclists on a club ride, killing one rider and injuring at least 20 others, North Carolina authorities said.

The crash happened shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Optimist Farm Road in Wake County, about 14 miles southwest of Raleigh, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said. About 30 riders from the Capital Cycling Club were riding together when a black car traveling the other way crossed into their lane.

Patrick Allen Turner, 63, of Cary, died at the scene, the Highway Patrol said. At least 20 other riders were hurt, seven of them seriously enough to be taken to regional trauma centers. Other riders were treated at hospitals in Raleigh, Cary and Holly Springs.

Driver left the scene, troopers say

The driver, 76-year-old Donald Robert Morris-Jones of Apex, kept driving after hitting the group, troopers said, then ran off the left side of the road into a ditch about a half-mile away. He was taken into custody there.

Morris-Jones faces charges including felony 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, the Highway Patrol said. He is being held in the Wake County Detention Center on a $1 million bond and is set to appear in court Monday afternoon. Court records described him as an overwhelming danger to society, according to CNN.

The Capital Cycling Club is one of the oldest cycling clubs in North Carolina. Another local club, Team CBC, canceled its Sunday ride out of respect for Turner and the injured riders. A candlelight vigil for Turner is planned for Nov. 15 as part of Bike Durham’s World Day of Remembrance for pedestrians and cyclists killed in crashes.

Reporting based on coverage by CNN and Velo.