Cyclists gathered in Hamilton Park to honor the late Charles Winget McBride and Lisa Kathleen McBride with a Ride to Remember on a recent evening.

About a year ago, the McBrides, a beloved couple in the local cycling community, were riding their bicycles when, according to court documents, they were struck from behind by a pickup in Clay County and died as a result of their injuries.

“Like most of the people here, I rode with them all the time,” David Coleman, Hotter’N Hell gravel road director, said May 29 at the event.

Coleman said the McBrides lived in an area with gravel roads in the area of the Hotter’N Hell’s gravel routes.

“So I would meet them out there, go right by their house, ride the gravel roads with them, and they were just a delight to be with; strong riders and fun people,” Coleman said.

The McBrides’ home was in the 3600 block of State Highway 79 North in Clay County — not far from the site of the June 1 that claimed their lives.

The Ride to Remember was hosted by Bike Wichita Falls. The event began with a prayer, as well as a few words from Cory Meharey, the McBrides’ daughter.

Then it was a solemn and slow 6-mile bike ride escorted by two motorcycles. The route was from Hamilton Park, to Speedway Avenue, through neighborhoods around Midwestern Parkway and Taft Boulevard and then back to Hamilton Park.

Besides honoring the couple, the event aimed to raise awareness in the community about safety.

“It’s more to just have more people be watchful on the road for the cyclists,” David Bender, a motorcyclist, said. “They’re just enjoying themselves, having fun . . ., and people in their cars just aren’t paying enough attention. They want to go home to their families just like you do in your car.”

Texas Department of Public Safety investigators believe the driver of a pickup may have been texting and failed to slow down at the time of the crash at 1:29 p.m. on FM 2393 near Luecke Lane in the small town of Dean, according to allegations in a DPS crash report.

The crash site is southeast of Wichita Falls.

In December, a Clay County grand jury indicted Michael David Luttrell, 51, on two charges of criminally negligent homicide in connection with the deaths of Charles, 63, and Lisa, 49, according to court documents.

Anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Luttrell was free Friday from the Clay County Jail on bonds of $50,000, according to online jail records.

Criminally negligent homicide is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years of confinement in a state jail facility.

Trish Choate, interim editor for the Wichita Falls Times Record News, San Angelo Standard-Times and Abilene Reporter-News, contributed to this report. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her X handle is @Trishapedia.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Bike Wichita Falls hosts Ride to Remember event in Wichita Falls