CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte's closely-knit cycling community is in mourning after one of their own was hit and killed.

  • 55-year-old cyclist Stacy Stranick hit and killed along "booty loop"
  • 69-year-old Margaret Seneker charged
  • Cyclists say the area can be dangerous for other cyclists 

"It's awful,” said neighbor Gail Carson who walked up on the crash moments after it happened. “It's got to be a way to let the bikers and the cars ride together without something like this happening."

Spectrum News learned the victim was well known among cycling groups. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say they have charged the driver.

Saturday, one of those cyclists, 55-year-old Stacy Stranick, was hit and killed along Myers Park's “booty loop.” That's the name of the popular route for the annual "24 Hours of Booty" cycling fundraiser.

"Yeah, I heard it,” Carson said. “I heard the crash. Just a boom."

It happened around 11 a.m. Saturday. Police say the driver was turning from Selwyn Avenue onto Bucknell Avenue when the woman cyclist struck the driver’s front, causing the cyclist to be ejected from her bike.

"They said her helmet cracked and she wasn't moving on the ground," Carson described.

Gail Carson says it not the first time for such a horrific crash along the “booty loop.”

"About six months ago, right down in the next curve, I saw a biker get hit, flipped in the air, but he was OK," Carson said.

Outside of cycling defensively and vigilantly, some say they avoid the “booty loop” route altogether.

"Even though I live right off the “booty loop,” I go outside the city and I get as far out as I can," said one cyclist we spoke to. "Regardless of how bright we are, for whatever reason, the drivers don't see you,” she added. “There's a lot of turns."

Those turns take drivers, cyclists and pedestrians through some of the most beautiful, but also, potentially dangerous, parts of Charlotte. "It is fun,” she said. “You see fellow cyclists out here and it's a beautiful area. But, you just have to be aware. You cannot relax."

Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department says they did charge the driver 69-year-old Margaret Seneker with failure to yield the right of way and misdemeanor death by vehicle. Police did confirm that the victim, Stacy Stranick, was wearing a helmet. Seneker was not injured.

Police say speed and alcohol are not factors in the crash.