One person died and nearly two dozen were injured when a car crossed the center line and plowed into a group of cyclists winding its way through a wooded, two-lane road outside of Raleigh on Saturday morning, November 7, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said. A North Carolina man, 76-year-old Donald Robert Morris-Jones, is now facing several felony charges after allegedly hitting the group and driving away.
The incident took place when the cyclists were traveling together amid the fall colors along Optimist Farm Road, in Wake County, about 14 miles southwest of Raleigh. A black passenger car crossed the center line and plowed into the group, the highway patrol said.
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Morris-Jones allegedly continued driving before running off the left side of the roadway into a ditch, about a half-mile from where he hit the group, authorities said, per CNN.
What we know about the victims and the suspect
The crash killed Patrick Allen Turner, a 63-year-old cyclist from Cary, North Carolina. 22 others were found injured by first responders.
Seven people 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.
One of the cyclists told WRAL that the often ride along the route together as part of the Capital Cycling Club.
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Morris-Jones, of Apex, was taken into custody. He faces several charges, including hit-and-run causing serious injury or death, serious injury by a vehicle, and driving while impaired. He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday afternoon, November 9, court records show.
Arrest warrants for the suspect describe the cyclists’ injuries, including a leg injury, injury to ribs and a cut arm.
Broadcastify radio traffic described the situation when first responders arrived, saying, “A vehicle just hit 15 to 20 pedestrians. Vehicle was a small black Infiniti … the driver is currently out, stumbling around at this time. It’s gonna be an older white male with white hair, goatee wearing a blue shirt. The vehicle is currently in a ditch. There are several injuries and possibly one code 7. SHP has been notified and EMS is on the way as well.”
Morris-Jones is at the Wake County Detention Center under a $1 million secured bond, WRAl reported. Court documents showed that he has no criminal record but is considered an overwhelming danger to society.