One cyclist was killed, and a dozen others were injured Saturday morning after a car struck a group of bicyclists in Wake County, North Carolina, according to the State Highway Patrol.
Authorities said impairment is suspected to have played a role in the crash.
According to law enforcement, the crash happened around 9:39 a.m. on Optimist Farm Road near Talicud Trail, which sits near Raleigh, North Carolina.
Investigators said a black car was traveling along Optimist Farm Road when it crossed the center line and struck a group of cyclists, highway patrol said. The driver allegedly continued away from the initial crash scene before running off the left side of the road and crashing into a ditch about half a mile away, authorities said.
The driver, identified as Donald Robert Morris-Jones, 76, of Apex, North Carolina, was arrested and charged with felony death by vehicle, seven counts of felony serious injury by vehicle, eight counts of felony hit and run, driving while impaired, reckless driving and driving left of center, authorities said on Saturday.
Morris-Jones was held at the Wake County Detention Center on a $1 million secured bond, according to law enforcement.
According to authorities, the cyclist who died was identified as Patrick Allen Turner, 63, of Cary, North Carolina.
Approximately 12 other cyclists suffered injuries ranging from minor to serious, and several were taken to local hospitals for treatment, highway patrol said.
The Capital Cycling Club identified the impacted bikers as club members in a board statement over the weekend.
The club remembered Turner, calling him a “strong, consistent, reliable and considerate rider,” in the statement
“We are all in shock by the senseless decision by the individual that caused the collision. This horrific event was -no accident-. As far as we know, the individual made a decision to drive in a way that put others in grave and mortal peril,” a statement from the club alleged.
The statement continued, “We do not think there was any possible way the driver did not know that he had collided with the group. He chose at that moment to keep driving away from the scene, leaving mass carnage in his wake.”
The club said it is working with law enforcement and thanked first responders.
An attorney for Morris-Jones could not be immediately identified.
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