The cycling community in North Carolina has united in grief and anger following a horrific hit-and-run incident at the weekend, which saw a suspected drink driver veer across the road into the path of a local cycling club, killing one rider and injuring at least 20 others.
In the latest tragedy to hit the US cycling scene in recent months, around 40 members of the Capital Cycling Club were riding on Optimist Farm Road, near Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday morning when 76-year-old motorist Donald Robert Morris-Jones crossed into their lane and struck them head-on.
One of the cyclists, 63-year-old Patrick Turner, was killed in the collision. Some local media outlets have reported that seven cyclists were seriously injured and are being treated in hospital, while 15 sustained minor injuries in the crash.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol also revealed that, after ploughing into the group, Morris-Jones continued driving before veering across the road and crashing into a ditch half a mile away. He then stumbled out of his car and attempted to flee the scene.
“Impairment is suspected to be a factor in the crash,” officials said in a statement.
Morris-Jones was arrested and charged with felony death by vehicle, seven counts of serious injury by vehicle, eight counts of hit and run, driving while impaired, reckless driving, and driving left of the centre line. He was being held in Wake County Detention Centre on a $1 million bail.
In a statement, Capital Cycling Club said it was shocked and heartbroken at the motorist’s “senseless decision” to drive in a manner that “put others in grave and mortal peril”, arguing that Saturday’s tragic collision “was no accident”.
“We want to first extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Patrick Turner on his tragic loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of sorrow and mourning. He was a strong, consistent, reliable and considerate rider,” the club said.
“Capital Cycling Club has been around for over 30 years… Our riders have years of experience and safety is the priority on every ride. Every Saturday we have three groups of riders, each riding at a designated pace. We ask that drivers respect the right of cyclists to use the road.
“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.
“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. We are working closely with law enforcement on their investigation. We will continue to follow this case closely as it proceeds to see that justice is done for our friends.”
Cycle North Carolina, the state’s governing body, said in a statement published on Sunday: “Today, our cycling community is heartbroken. Yesterday morning, we learned of a tragic incident involving members of the Capital Cycling Club, and the loss of one of our Cycle NC riders makes this tragedy hit especially close to home.
“At Cycle NC, we are brought together by a shared love of cycling, the friendships formed along the miles, and the incredible sense of community that connects riders from across our state. Losing a member of that community is something we feel deeply.
“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. Please take care of one another, look out for your fellow cyclists, and hold your cycling friends a little closer.”
Local cyclist Dileep Dadlani, who joined the Capital Cycling Club when he moved to the area in 2008, told ABC11 that tragedies like the one that occurred on Saturday “simply shouldn’t happen in this day and age”.
Dadlani described the club as “incredibly safe”, saying the riders “look out for each other” and “they’re safe on the road”.
“The entire cycling community was affected. We heard, and we felt immediate anger and sorrow and these types of things,” he said, describing the fatal collision as “completely preventable”.
“This gentleman was apparently drinking and driving, which is horrible. Now, we know we lost one life. We’ve got seven people in the hospital, and 30 people were affected by this tragedy,” he said.
“We [as cyclists] want to be good stewards of the road and obey all the traffic laws. We hope that’s reciprocated by folks that are driving in their vehicles.
“I just wish drivers out there would just pay attention, slow down. The cycling community as a whole really do police themselves. They want to share the road. They want to be good stewards of the road and their space for all of us. We just have to make the time and energy to take it seriously.”
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“This is one of the safest group rides. While I rarely take the road anymore, when I do groups this is the one I would join. Everyone is welcoming, kind, and we keep each other as safe as possible.,” local cyclist Katie Hamister added in a Facebook post.
“There is almost nothing you can do when a car with an intoxicated driver runs into you head on. It’s terror. I know it’s dark for a lot of our cycling community right now.
“I hope that everyone that drives a motor vehicle knows the privilege to take the road, it’s an inherent responsibility and with that keeping vulnerable road users safe is one of them. Yes, we are slower. We ride this route every week, same time. Because it’s all we have.”
Saturday’s fatal collision is the latest in an increasingly long line of shocking, hit-and-run incidents involving cyclists in the United States.
In August, two members of a university cycling team, Haylan Engdahl and Brayden Rogers, were killed by a driver and seven others injured in a horror crash during a training ride in Tennessee.
Motorist John Benfield, a 69-year-old from North Carolina, was arrested and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide by recklessness and five counts of aggravated assault by vehicle.
In recent weeks, the attitudes of motorists (and the general public) towards cyclists has been a rather depressing topic of debate in the US, after a driver, who faces charges of aggravated battery and assault for driving into a group of cyclists, insisted he did nothing wrong in a sympathetic profile published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Jerry Ross, who veered towards the cyclists and caused two riders to crash while blaring his horn in May, footage of the incident subsequently going viral, told police after his arrest that he was “just tired” of cyclists doing “what the hell they want”.
