Driver, 76, charged with felony death by vehicle in Wake County crash

Donald Robert Morris-Jones, 76, of Apex was charged with more than a dozen felony counts after a car crossed the center line on a Wake County, North Carolina, road Saturday morning and struck a group of cyclists, killing one rider and injuring about 20 others, fire officials said.

We had seven traumas, one fatality and about 13 minor injuries that are being treated and transported now

The cyclist who died was Patrick Allen Turner, 63, of Cary, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said. Troopers were called just after 9:30 a.m. on Saturday to Optimist Farm Road near Talicud Trail in Wake County, about 14 miles southwest of Raleigh. The riders were traveling east when they were hit. Turner died at the scene, WRAL reported.

The counts and the bond

Morris-Jones is charged with one count of felony death by vehicle, seven counts of felony serious injury by vehicle and eight counts of felony hit-and-run involving serious injury or death, the Highway Patrol said. He also faces one count each of driving while impaired, reckless driving and driving left of center.

He was arrested on Saturday and booked into the Wake County Detention Center under a $1 million secured bond. Court documents say Morris-Jones has no criminal record but is considered an overwhelming danger to society, according to WRAL.

Arrest warrants for Morris-Jones describe injuries among the riders that include a leg injury, injury to ribs and a cut arm.

Impairment is suspected to be a factor in the crash, the Highway Patrol said. He is also accused of trying to flee the scene.

How the crash unfolded

A black Infiniti traveling west on Optimist Farm Road crossed the center line and struck cyclists who were riding east, the Highway Patrol said. The car crossed back into its own lane, kept going and ran off the left side of the road into a ditch about a half-mile from where the riders were hit, according to the Holly Springs Fire Department.

The driver did not stop. Radio traffic from the first minutes of the response described a small black Infiniti that had hit 15 to 20 people, a driver standing outside the car and stumbling, and the vehicle sitting in a ditch, WRAL reported. Troopers said he stumbled out after the car crashed.

Seven riders with serious injuries were taken to regional trauma centers. A Wake County EMS bus was brought in to carry others to local hospitals, according to WRAL, and ABC11 reported that the injured went to WakeMed Raleigh, WakeMed Cary and UNC Health Holly Springs.

Bicycles were left stacked against a guardrail at the scene, and Optimist Farm Road stayed closed until early afternoon before reopening.

Numbers that do not match

Official injury counts differ. Smith told ABC11 there were seven serious injuries and about 13 minor ones, while the Highway Patrol put the toll at about a dozen.

Smith's count of minor injuries varied between accounts, from 13 to 15.

The riders were part of a group of about 30 from the Capital Cycling Club, state troopers and the Holly Springs Fire Department said.

Turner will be remembered at a vigil on November 15, said Shaun King, board chair of the nonprofit Bike Durham, which marks that date as a World Day of Remembrance for pedestrians and cyclists killed in crashes.

The club and its route

One of the cyclists told WRAL that the group frequently rides the route together, and people at the scene told Smith that the riders were part of a group that regularly gathers for weekend bike rides, CBS News reported.

King said he has ridden with the Capital Cycling Club himself and described it to WRAL as an older club that rides responsibly and has raised money for multiple sclerosis for more than 30 years with a Firecracker Ride on July 4. Many Bike Durham members are connected to the club, he said.

Reaction across the Triangle

King said he learned of the crash on Saturday morning when his wife began receiving messages asking whether she was hurt. The two scrambled to work out what was happening, he told ABC11. He said riders across the region felt exposed, because the harm done to the club's members could have happened to any of them.

A member of TeamCBC, another nonprofit cycling club in the Triangle, wrote on Facebook that the group had canceled a ride scheduled for Sunday out of respect for the rider who was killed and those injured, WRAL reported.

Safety on shared roads

King said cyclists ride two in line so the group stays compact and a passing vehicle spends less time in the oncoming lane. He called for better signage on rural roads, including notices to share the road with cyclists and warnings about blind turns, and for public education on passing safely.

Smith urged motorists to be aware of people riding bikes, saying riders have a right to be on the road. Lin Osbourne, a Capital Cycling Club member who rides often with the group that was struck, was not with them on Saturday. He said everyone he is close to is safe, and that he knows just about everyone in the group.

When things like this happen, it's just a reminder that no matter how much we police ourselves, there are circumstances that are well beyond our control

Osbourne said he has been road cycling for about 40 years and plans to continue, though he has already adjusted the times of day he rides to avoid heavy traffic. Every cyclist will have to make that determination individually, he said. Bob Schroder, who lives near the crash scene and used to cycle himself, said he hoped the survivors pull through.

What comes next

Morris-Jones is scheduled to appear in court on Monday afternoon, November 9, court records show.

What caused the suspected impairment has not been established. Asked by WRAL whether alcohol, drugs or medication was involved, a Highway Patrol spokesperson said the agency cannot speculate and that many of these questions will be answered in the final crash report. The patrol did not say when that report would be finished.