At least 10 bicyclists were injured Saturday morning when a driver struck them along Optimist Farm Road east of Holly Springs, in a crash authorities have classified as a mass casualty incident. Several of the seriously wounded were rushed to two local hospitals as emergency crews swarmed the scene just south of the NC 540 Toll highway.
The crash was reported around 9:40 a.m. in the 4200 block of Optimist Farm Road near Talicud Trail, according to CBS 17. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said the driver of a vehicle hit several bicyclists traveling along the road, though it remains unclear how many riders were part of the group or what led up to the collision. WRAL similarly reported that several people were seriously injured in the crash, noting that the state Highway Patrol was responding to the scene.
Wake County officials said fire and rescue squads responded to the crash, and the station's report notes that several of the seriously wounded were taken to two local hospitals. The collision has shut down Optimist Farm Road near Holly Springs, and no timeline has been given for when it might reopen.
A Stretch of Road With a Troubled History
This is not the first time cyclists have been hurt on roads around Holly Springs and the greater Wake County area. Per the same cbs17.com account, a 15-year-old bicyclist was earlier hit by a commercial box truck on Lockley Road at Canterwood Drive and suffered non-life-threatening injuries to his leg and foot. A separate crash on Avon Ferry Road near Holly Meadow Drive killed a teenage cyclist and critically injured another person, according to WRAL, though the year of that crash was not specified in that report.
Cyclist safety has long been a concern in the wider region. In Orange County, troopers said a driver crossed the center line, struck two bicyclists on N.C. Highway 751 near U.S. Route 70, and fled toward Durham County, leaving both riders with serious injuries, as detailed by CBS 17 in a separate report. And in Apex, police previously said they had launched a campaign to warn cyclists about road dangers after recording an increase in the number of riders in the area, per a WRAL report from 2009 — the same year a 52-year-old Cary cyclist, Bruce W. Rosar, was killed in a collision with a vehicle near the Apex Peakway.
What Remains Unknown
Authorities have not released the identities of those hurt in Saturday's crash, nor have they detailed each rider's specific injuries beyond saying several were seriously wounded. It is also not yet known whether the driver involved has faced any citations or charges, and no agency has issued a formal statement laying out the cause of the collision. As the investigation continues, Optimist Farm Road remains closed near Holly Springs while crews work the scene just south of the NC 540 Toll highway.
