Marble – A Canton man with a long criminal history in Cherokee County was charged in the death of a 48-year-old woman riding her bicycle on Airport Road on Nov. 3.
Christopher Lee Searcy, 46, was booked on two misdemeanor charges – death by vehicle and driving while license revoked – and one infraction, failure to maintain lane control. He was arrested Nov. 3 and released the next day after posting a $1,500 bond.
Searcy is accused of being the driver of a Jeep that stuck Helen Shannon Runge, 48, of Marble, as she rode her bike along Airport Road near Hyatt Creek. Runge was riding along the westbound lane of the road approaching the bridge over Hyatt Creek a little after 5 p.m. when she was struck from behind.
Tire tracks marked during the N.C. Highway Patrol investigation show the westbound vehicle, a Jeep, veered to the far right edge of the road, crashed into the bicycle from behind and skidded to a stop in the middle of the two-lane road.
Medics were on scene immediately – the incident occurred in front of the Marble ambulance station – but could do nothing to save her. The occupants of the vehicle remained on scene and were questioned during the investigation.
The Highway Patrol court paperwork said Searcy “unlawfully and willfully did and unintentionally cause” Runge’s death while driving on a revoked driver’s license. It adds that Searcy failed to stay in his lane.
Searcy has a long history of criminal offenses and infractions dating to 1996. He has several cases involving driving while his license was revoked and driving without a license, including several convictions since 2020. He has also been cited for infractions, including license plate not displayed and driving with unsafe tires.
Other charges over the year include possession of stolen goods, larceny after breaking and entering, financial car fraud, obtaining property by false pretenses and larceny of firearms.
The Nov. 3 incident was the second death of a bicyclist on Airport Road, a two-lane state road with no paved shoulders, in less than three months.
Retired dentist and Andrews resident Frank Mason, 82, was struck by a vehicle on Aug. 12 and finally succumbed from his injuries on Aug. 18. Mason, an avid bicyclist, was riding his bike along Airport Road just west of Webb Creek Road on the morning of Aug. 12 when he was struck by a vehicle driven by Samantha Bristol of Walnut Cove Road in Andrews.
Bristol pulled over immediately after the incident and called 911. There are no court records indicating that she was charged in that incident.