Camaro driver arrested in Raleigh street-racing crash that killed other driver, injured 2

Raleigh police on Tuesday arrested a man they say was racing another driver on Atlantic Avenue last week when the other driver slammed into a third car and was killed.

Manuel Antonio Cerrone, 30, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, felony hit and run causing serious injury or death, and misdemeanor death by vehicle, according to a Raleigh Police Department news release.

Police believe Cerrone was driving a 2020 Chevrolet Camaro that struck a tree and that he fled the scene, the release stated.

Here is what police say happened.

Just before 4:30 a.m. March 7, William Ortiz, 33, was driving a 2019 Mercedes Benz E 300 northbound on Atlantic Avenue. A man now believed to be Cerrone was driving the Camaro, also heading north on Atlantic Avenue.

Meanwhile, a woman with a child passenger was driving a 2009 Chevrolet Traverse south on Atlantic Avenue.

Investigators believe Ortiz and Cerrone were racing when Ortiz veered into the lane the Traverse was in and struck it head-on on Atlantic Avenue near East Six Forks Road.

The Camaro also veered into the southbound lanes, left the road and hit a tree. The driver of the Camaro then fled, according to police

The driver and passenger in the Traverse suffered serious injuries and were taken to a hospital, the release stated.

Ortiz died from his injuries in the crash, police said.

The News & Observer has contacted Raleigh police for more information, including whether the Traverse driver and her passenger have been released from the hospital.

This story was originally published March 14, 2023 at 10:35 AM.