Newton Cyclist Struck, Killed by SUV While Riding for Charity

A Newton woman who was leading a charity bike ride from South Carolina to Santa Cruz was killed Monday when an SUV attempting to pass the group struck her while she was riding in Alabama.

Christina Genco, 22, and her co-leader, Jeremy Story, were leading a group of cyclists for Bike & Build Inc., a nonprofit organization that helps raise funds for affordable housing projects throughout the country, when the incident occurred.

According to accounts from riders participating in the trip as well as information from Alabama State Police published on the Bike & Build Web site, the group was heading toward Scottsboro, AL on Route 35 in the shoulder of the west-bound travel lane when an SUV attempted to pass them and struck Genco. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Her co-leader, Story, was not harmed.

As of Wednesday, no charges had been filed against the SUV driver, Bike & Build staff reported.

According to her bio on the organization's web site, Genco lived in Newton and graduated from Boston University last spring. She had participated in the organization’s Boston to Santa Barbara route in 2009.

“Christina’s zest for life and passion for the cause made her a beloved member of the Bike & Build family and her passing has left a permanent hole in our lives,” a Bike & Build staff member wrote in a letter published June 6 on the group’s site.

Genco, who graduated from BU with degrees in hospitality and graphic design, coached a club lacrosse team in Boston, Revolution Lacrosse, before joining the 2011 bike tour. 

The ride, which began May 23 and was slated to end Aug. 11, was taking riders more than 4, 000 miles across the country, with the volunteers stopping to help build homes along the way, according to the Bike & Build Web site.

Services for Genco will be held early next week, according to information provided by the Genco family and published on the Bike & Build site. Visitation will be held on Sunday, June 12 form 3:00-7:00 p.m. at . A Funeral Mass will be held on Monday, June 13 at 10:30 a.m. at Our Lady Help of Christians Parish with burial immediately following at . Friends are invited to join the family afterward for a luncheon at 12:30 p.m. at Chestnut Hill School, 428 Hammond St., Chestnut Hill.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made in Christina’s honor to The Christinta Clarke Genco (Brooke) Revolution Lacrosse Scholarship Fund or to the Christina Clarke Genco Safe Biking Fund.