Note: The above video is from previous coverage on Dec. 21, 2024 of this incident. HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A man is facing multiple charges of second-degree murder and a DWI charge after three people died in a vehicle collision Saturday afternoon north of Hillsborough near Phelps Road in Orange County. Around 2:52 p.m., North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers responded to a reported crash that occurred on NC-57. Troopers said that 33-year-old Carlos Gerardo Gonzalez-Mejia was traveling on NC-57 operating a Toyota Tundra truck behind a Toyota Rav4 SUV driven by 45-year-old Bertha Alicia Vacio-Moreno. Ronald Trevor Wiley, 74, was also traveling south driving a Honda Ridgeline truck. Photo contributed to CBS 17 Photo contributed to CBS 17 Photo contributed to CBS 17 Photo contributed to CBS 17 Photo contributed to CBS 17 Photo contributed to CBS 17 Investigators believe Gonzalez-Mejia was speeding when he struck the rear of Vacio-Moreno, forcing her vehicle across the centerline and crashing into Wiley. Gonzalez-Mejia attempted to flee the scene after the collision, but his truck became disabled on the road, officials said. Vacio-Moreno and two young children in her vehicle died on the scene, according to the highway patrol. The Orange County District Attorney said that Vacio-Moreno was the mother of the two children. Wiley suffered serious life-threatening injuries and was transported to Duke Hospital in Durham. Gonzalez-Mejia was uninjured in the crash. On Monday morning, Gonzalez-Mejia made his first appearance in Orange County court where a judge placed him under a $3 million bond.  CBS 17 spoke with Orange County District Attorney Jeff Nieman after the appearance.  "I spoke with the father and the remaining son of this family today," Nieman said. "I can't even imagine what they're going through. They lost most of their family in an instant." Joe Phelps, owner of nearby Hoof Beat Farm, was working in a shop at the farm Saturday when he heard the massive collision. He got to the scene just about two minutes after the wreck, he said. Phelps said the red minivan with the children inside was spun around during the initial crash and then t-boned by a white truck. Gonzalez-Mejia was arrested by troopers on the scene and transported to Orange County Jail. He is charged with: 3 counts of second-degree murder, felony habitual driving while impaired, felony serious injury with a motor vehicle, felony hit and run, failure to reduce speed, and careless and reckless driving. Troopers said that the crash is still under investigation. NC-57 near Phelps Road was closed for almost four hours during the investigation and the scene was cleared around 6:44 p.m.