Cary biker killed in hit-and-run; truck driver charged

A tractor-trailer driver was charged Thursday with second-degree murder after a motorcyclist died in a hit-and-run wreck on Interstate 85, north of Henderson.

State troopers said that Michael Gray Rigsbee, 38, was driving southbound near mile marker 220 around 7 p.m. when his truck hit the motorcycle Sean Christopher Newman was riding.

Troopers said the tractor-trailer did not stop.

Newman, 39, of Cary, lost control of his bike and struck the median. He was thrown from the bike and died instantly, authorities said.

Troopers pulled over Rigsbee in Granville County, about 20 miles south of the wreck.

In addition to second-degree murder, Rigsbee, of 1620 Pope Road in Creedmoor, faces one count each of felony hit-and-run, failure to render aid and careless and reckless driving.

He was in the Vance County jail Friday morning under a $112,000 bond.

Newman was a freelance documentary photographer who traveled the world, family members said. He was married to his high school sweetheart, Julie, and they had a 7-year-old son and were in the process of adopting a daughter from Korea.

Funeral arrangements were pending Friday afternoon.