One cyclist was killed and at least a dozen others were injured on Saturday morning when a driver suspected of being impaired crossed the centre line and ploughed into a large group ride in Wake County, North Carolina, the State Highway Patrol said.
The crash happened just after 9.30am on Optimist Farm Road, about 14 miles south-west of Raleigh. More than 40 riders from the Capital Cycling Club, a group that meets regularly for weekend rides, were travelling east along the wooded two-lane road when a black Infiniti passenger car heading west veered across the centre line and drove straight into them.
The Highway Patrol identified the cyclist who died as Patrick Allen Turner, 63, of Cary, North Carolina. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Several other riders were taken to hospital, with injuries ranging from minor to serious. The Highway Patrol put the number injured at about a dozen, while Holly Springs Fire Chief LeRoy Smith told CBS News that seven people had been taken to hospital with major injuries and 15 others had minor injuries.
The driver did not stop after striking the group. He continued for about half a mile before running off the left side of the road into a ditch, where troopers arrested him. He was identified as Donald Robert Morris-Jones, 76, of Apex, North Carolina, and was being held at the Wake County Detention Center on a $1 million bond.
Morris-Jones faces multiple charges, including felony death by vehicle, seven counts of felony serious injury by vehicle, eight counts of felony hit-and-run involving serious injury or death, driving while impaired, reckless driving and driving left of centre. Investigators said impairment was suspected to have been a factor in the crash, though the charges are allegations and the case has yet to come before a court.
The crash is the latest reminder of the dangers faced by cyclists on rural roads in the United States, where group rides are a regular weekend fixture but riders have little protection when a vehicle crosses into their lane. The Highway Patrol is continuing its investigation.
Sources: NBC News; CBS News; The States Journal, “Cyclist killed, at least 12 hurt as suspected impaired driver hits group in Wake County, NC”, 8 November 2026 (https://thestatesjournal.com/articles/cyclist-killed-at-least-12-hurt-as-suspected-impaired-driver-hits-group-in-wake-county-nc-466e8616/)
