A driver plowed into a crowd of bicyclists in Wake County, North Carolina, early Sunday morning, killing one cyclist and injuring a number of others.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP) told Fox News Digital that troopers responded to the crash in Apex at about 9:39 a.m. Sunday.
A black Infiniti driven by the suspect was traveling west along Optimist Farm Road when it “crossed the center line and struck a group of cyclists who were traveling east,” an NCSHP official said.
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“The passenger vehicle then continued traveling away from the scene before running off the left side of the roadway and colliding with a ditch approximately one-half mile away from the initial crash scene,” the official added.
The driver struck a number of cyclists in a group of about 30 riders, according to the Holly Springs Fire Department, as reported by several outlets.
Some were treated at the scene, while others were taken to local hospitals.
An NCSHP official told Fox News Digital that the cyclists “suffered injuries ranging from minor to serious, several of whom were transported to local hospitals for treatment.”
Approximately a dozen cyclists were injured in the incident, the same official said Monday.
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The driver, identified as Donald Robert Morris-Jones, 76, was charged with multiple offenses, including seven counts of felony serious injury by vehicle and eight counts of felony hit-and-run, officials said.
He also faces charges of felony death by vehicle, driving while impaired, reckless driving and driving left of center.
“Impairment is suspected to be a factor in the crash,” an official told Fox News Digital.
Morris-Jones was transported to the Wake County Detention Center, where he was being held on a $1 million secured bond.
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The cyclist killed in the crash was identified as Patrick Allen Turner, 63, of Cary, North Carolina.
The tragedy has also shaken North Carolina’s cycling community.
In a Facebook post, Cycle North Carolina, a statewide organization that hosts recreational cycling events, said Turner’s death “makes this tragedy hit especially close to home.”
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“Our hearts are with Patrick’s family and friends, as well as everyone else involved and impacted by this tragedy. We cannot begin to imagine the pain and shock they are experiencing,” the organization wrote.
“Please take care of one another [and] look out for your fellow cyclists.”
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Shaun King, board chair of Bike Durham, told ABC11 he first learned of the crash through concerned messages from friends and family.
“We feel very vulnerable in this moment because this harm that our CCC community members are feeling right now could have happened to any of us,” he told the outlet.
King added, “By riding in the style that we do, which is two in line, it means that we are more compact, so that a vehicle passes us under a short duration when they’re in the other line.”
