Alabama troopers take over probe into cyclist’s death

By Matt Byrne, Globe Correspondent

Alabama State Troopers have taken over the investigation into the death of a 22-year-old Newton cyclist struck and killed on a rural roadway there this week, because the driver and his family have close professional ties to the local district attorney’s office.

Craig Chandler, 42, of Rainsville, Ala., was driving on Route 35 near the Georgia state line, when his sport utility vehicle struck Christina Genco, who was helping to lead a cross-country charity ride, said Dekalb County District Attorney Michael O’Dell, in a phone interview today.

Chandler had worked in O’Dell’s office as a civilian check fraud investigator under contract, O’Dell said, but he was let go when the position was made permanent a few years ago. O’Dell’s office has not been in contact with Chandler for “several years,” he said.

Chandler’s father, whose name was not released, is currently employed as a court officer in nearby Fort Payne, O’Dell said.

To avoid any potential conflict, O’Dell said he forwarded the case to the state attorney general’s office, with all investigative activity to be performed by an Alabama state police unit and not a local agency, he said.

“The driver is the son of a respected law enforcement officer here. We wanted to make sure we had an independent agency heading [the investigation] up,” O’Dell said in a phone interview. “We will have nothing to do with it.”

No charges have been filed in the case, O’Dell said. An autopsy was performed but preliminary results are still pending, he said.

The full investigation into the crash is expected to take several weeks, and any charges that may be filed in the future will be the responsibility of the state attorney general’s office, he said.

While O’Dell could not comment on the specifics of the case, he said investigators will likely examine if drugs, alcohol, or speed were factors in the accident, in which Genco was struck from behind, he said. The speed limit in the area of the crash is between 55 and 65 miles-per-hour, O’Dell said.

Genco was co-leading a group of 33 cyclists who set out several days earlier from South Carolina bound for California. The 4,100-mile, 81-day journey was organized by Bike and Build, a Philadelphia-based non-profit that organizes the annual ride. Along the way, participants stop to help construct homes and perform service work.