CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hundreds of people gathered in Charlotte's NoDa neighborhood for a community bike ride and mural unveiling in honor of Kristie Crowder. The 30-year-old bicyclist was killed in January after being hit by a car in Plaza Midwood.
The name Kristie Crowder is intertwined with the streets of NoDa. If you ask her friends and family, they could tell you a million things she loved about the area.
“She’s not only a part of this community, she created one," her best friend Kat Nencetti said.
“She loved it here -- she owned a little house here," her aunt Sheila Ward said. "Just her heart and soul. If anyone loved NoDa, it would be Kristie Crowder.”
Months after the tragedy, friends and family hit the streets on their bikes riding in honor of Kristie Crowder. More than three dozen bikes took off out of the parking lot Friday -- it was a sight that brought tears to her families eyes.
“I am just so blessed that everyone cares about her, to want to remember her every single day," Kaitlyn Crowder said.
The cyclists returned and the crowd gathered on the side of the building outside The Exchange at 36th, where a mural painted in her honor was revealed. Her mother told WCNC Charlotte it was the most beautiful portrayal of her daughter.
“It makes it feel like everyone kind of went through the same loss," Kaitlyn Crowder said.
Nencetti said she felt Kristie Crowder's presence with her the entire time while painting the mural.
“I would kind of talk to her through out it," Nencetti said. "Making sure I was doing her hair right. Making sure I was representing her the way she deserved.”
In the community Kristie Crowder knew and loved, now more than her name is in intertwined, but her image as well.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.