Friends remember Raleigh moped rider killed in crash on Hammond Road
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- - Friends who say they were like family are mourning the loss of 52-year-old Michael Capers, who was killed in a crash Tuesday afternoon along Hammond Road in Raleigh.
Monica Jones and Salenia Hawkins returned to the crash site to lay flowers in Capers' memory, visibly emotional as they reflected on the life that was lost.
"Mike is Mike. He's a good guy. Don't start no trouble," said Jones.
Hawkins said she unknowingly drove past the crash scene shortly after it happened and didn't realize her friend was the victim.
"Never thought it was my friend. Never thought," she said.
Raleigh police said the crash happened just before 3 p.m. Tuesday on Hammond Road near Rush Street.
Investigators said the driver of a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee rear-ended Capers while he was riding a moped. Police said Capers was thrown from the moped and then run over by the Jeep.
Capers worked at a Chick-fil-A in Garner, about two miles from where the crash happened. In a social media post, the restaurant described him as "an incredible employee and friend" and "a man on a mission to live his life to the fullest."
Police said Capers was just two miles into his ride home from work when he was killed.
Hawkins said she often invited Capers to church and believed he planned to attend one day.
"I had invited him to my church. He said, 'I'm coming, Salenia.' I said, 'OK, Mike.' Time to time, we would text, and I'd invite him to church. He never made it," she said.
Friends said Capers was an experienced and careful moped driver.
"Mike was a cautious driver. He always had his helmet and vest on. So just to hear after all these years of being a moped driver that this was his exit," Hawkins said.
Jones and Hawkins first met Capers years ago while working together at the Bojangles on Western Boulevard. What began as a workplace friendship eventually turned into something deeper.
"A hard worker," she said. "He tried to do every position that he could, day in and day out."
Police identified the driver of the Jeep as 35-year-old Gabriela Ortiz. She was charged with driving without a license, failure to reduce speed, and misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.
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Court documents obtained by ABC11 show that Ortiz was cited just two weeks ago in Raleigh for driving without a license and running a red light.
Raleigh police said the crash remains under investigation. There have been four accidents in six months at the site of the crash.
The friends who loved Capers said they are now left grieving and wishing they had one more chance to see him.
"I needed to stop by Chick-fil-A and see him. You just think you have more time," Jones said.
Funeral arrangements for Capers have not yet been announced.
