Bicyclist Fatally Injured By Truck In NC

NCSU junior, 21, faces DWI charges

Marlon A. Walker, Staff Writer
RALEIGH - After shin splints sidelined her running hobby, Nancy Leidy turned to biking. It was something she and her husband, Ross, enjoyed together.
So when she called Ross on Wednesday morning with plans to bike a 10-mile path the two maneuvered together Sunday, he simply reminded her of a good parking place and then wished her well.

Nancy Leidy, 60, was half-way through the trip when police say an N.C. State student hit her with his pickup truck about 11 a.m. She died just before 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Brian Anthony Reid, of 302 S. Sixty Court in Graham, had turned 21 on Wednesday. The arresting officer said he smelled of alcohol, had glossy eyes and slurred speech at the scene. Records indicate Reid had a blood-alcohol content of 0.12. A level of 0.08 is considered impaired.

He was charged after the accident with one count each of felony serious injury by vehicle, driving while impaired and failure to reduce speed. Those could change because of Leidy's death, Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue said late Wednesday night.

According to the police report, Leidy was riding on the right side of the road when she was hit. She was thrown 58 feet by the impact. According to the police report, she was wearing a helmet.

Leidy was taken to Wake-Med Raleigh Campus, where she died, officials said Wed-nesday night.

Reid was not injured. He was released from Wake County jail Wednesday after posting a $10,000 secured bond and signing a promise to appear in court next month to answer the DWI charge. He will appear in court today on other charges.

Leidy's interests

Ross Leidy said his wife took on many tasks when she stopped working in 1991.

She worked for free as an entomology professor at N.C. State University. She ran a local support group for wives of soldiers stationed overseas during Operation Desert Storm. She also hunted for antiques and racked up ribbons for her jellies at the State Fair. And she biked.

"She was the kind of woman that when she got into something, she really got into it," he said.

Wednesday night, as Leidy mourned his wife, he also empathized with the young man charged with hitting her.

"I feel bad for the guy," Leidy said. "I was young once, and I remember getting [drunk] before. I don't think it was at 11 a.m., though."

News researcher Becky Ogburn contributed to this report.

marlon.walker@newsobserver.com or (919) 836-4906