An Apex driver is facing more than a dozen felony charges in a Wake County bicycle crash that killed at least one rider and injured 20 others.
Around 9:40 a.m. on Saturday, a car driven by an impaired driver hit several people riding bicycles on Optimist Farm Road near Talicud Trail in Wake County.
Patrick Turner, 63, of Cary, died at the scene, and seven other people were taken to the hospital.
The driver of the vehicle, Donald Robert Morris-Jones, 76, of Apex, is charged with multiple counts of felony hit-and-run, driving while intoxicated (DWI), careless and reckless driving, felony death by motor vehicle, and felony serious injury by motor vehicle.
Arrest warrants for Morris-Jones describe the cyclists’ injuries, including a leg injury, injury to ribs and a cut arm.
A group of 30 cyclists with the Capital Cyclist Club were riding east when a black Infiniti crossed the center line and hit several cyclists before crossing back into their own lane, then landing in a ditch approximately one-half mile away from the initial crash scene, according to the Holly Springs Fire Department.
One of the cyclists told WRAL that they frequently ride along the route together.
Several people were treated at the scene and transported to the hospital.
Of the 20 people injured, seven have serious injuries, and 13 have minor injuries, according to Holly Springs Fire Chief LeRoy Smith.
A Wake County EMS bus was brought in to transport the injured to local hospitals.
Wake Emergency bus (© WRAL)
North Carolina State Highway Patrol is responding to the crash.
Optimist Farm Road has since reopened.
Bikes lined up after the crash (© WRAL)