CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A 30-year-old bicyclist has died of injuries she sustained after being struck by a car in Charlotte's Plaza Midwood neighborhood on Jan. 5, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced Monday.
Shortly after 5 p.m. on that Thursday, the bicyclist was riding her bike near The Plaza when she was struck by a vehicle traveling southbound. The crash happened near Hamorton Place, which is one block north of Central Ave.
"Upon arrival, officers located a 2013 Honda Insight with front and windshield damage, and an unconscious bicyclist located in the roadway," CMPD said in a written statement.
The bicyclist was transported to Atrium Health's Carolina Medical Center hospital with life-threatening injuries. She succumbed to her injuries the next day.
"As the Honda was approaching the intersection, the bicyclist, traveling east on Hamorton Place, entered the intersection at The Plaza in front of the Honda," CMPD explained. "The driver of the Honda was unable to stop in time and collided with the bicycle. The bicyclist hit the side of the vehicle and windshield, and landed back on the roadway."
The driver of the vehicle stopped her vehicle and stayed at the scene, police said. Investigators found the driver was not impaired.
The investigation is ongoing. Police have not announced any charges connected to the crash.
After the crash, advocates called for improving the safety of Charlotte's streets for pedestrians and cyclists.
“Those are all really important things as a city our size and size that’s growing," Angela Berry, of Vision Zero, a group looking to eliminate traffic deaths, told WCNC Charlotte's Austin Walker earlier this month.
According to the Center for Disease Control's Transportation Safety Division, every year an estimated 1,000 cyclists died in crashes. Another 130,000 are injured.
Any person who witnessed the Plaza Midwood crash or has information about this crash is asked to call Detective Mercedes at 704-432-2169, extension 5. Information can also be left anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or http://charlottecrimestoppers.com/.