- On Sunday May 16, U.S. cycling champion Gwen Inglis was struck and killed by a car during a training ride.
- She and her husband Michael Inglis were riding in a bike lane in Colorado, when the driver swerved and hit her.
- The driver was arrested and is facing vehicular homicide and driving under the influence charges.
Gwen Inglis, the reigning national age group road race champion, was hit killed by a suspected driver under the influence while she was biking on Sunday. She was 46.
The Lakewood, Colorado, police department said in a community alert that the driver “drifted into the bike lane” and struck Inglis. The champion cyclist was taken to a local hospital where she “ultimately died of her injuries,” the alert says.
The driver, Ryan Scott Montoya, was arrested in connection with the crash and is facing charges, including vehicular homicide and driving under the influence, according to NBC affiliate 9 News.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by 9 News, the cyclist’s husband, Michael Inglis, said his wife was 100 meters in front of him on her bike when a sedan came close to hitting him, and then hit his wife. Gwen was thrown from her bike into the air, and Michael, who is a trained paramedic, said he did not see any signs of life when he checked.
Michael spoke to a crowd at a memorial for his wife earlier this week and said he was with her when the crash happened. “I just am still in shock that two days ago I was in this grass on my hands and knees trying to save my wife,” he said, per 9 News. “It was so surreal to have my wife, my best friend, my stoker on my tandem—not here anymore.”
Michael said that there was nothing he could do to save his wife’s life.“We’ve all ridden this a thousand times and then it only takes once, one individual to change and devastate everybody’s lives,” he said.
Gwen was a decorated champion, most recently winning the 45- to 49-year-old group for road racing at the USA Cycling Masters Road Nationals. She last raced on April 24th, and finished 8th in the Pueblo Classic – Steel City Road Race in Pueblo, Colorado. She was also a member of the Black Swift/Cycleton Cycling Team.
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