Police ID cyclist struck by truck

Update:

The American Association for the Advancement of Science released this statement about Constance Holden, 68, who was killed Monday when she was struck by a truck providing support for the Nuclear Security Summit.

The statement said that Holden was " … a veteran journalist and painter affectionately known to friends and colleagues as ‘Tancy.’

"Holden had joined the staff of Science magazine in 1970. She was an award-winning reporter, highly regarded for her comprehensive coverage of the biological and genetic bases for human behavior. In addition to writing news features for four decades about social science, and particularly psychology, she had long edited the journal’s weekly ‘Random Samples’ page, a compendium of newsworthy scientific developments.”

(Courtesy of AAAS, self-portrait by Constance Holden)

Holden was a highly accomplished artist whose oil paintings have regularly appeared on the walls of AAAS.

Alan I. Leshner, chief executive of AAAS and executive publisher of Science, informed staff members early Tuesday of Holden’s death, noting that she “was held in very high esteem and with great affection by both those people with whom she worked and our readers. This is a terrible loss, both personally and professionally for so many on our staff who knew her well.”

D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) also released a statement concerning Holden’s death.

“I want to express my grief and sorrow for the family of Constance Holden, a resident of Mount Pleasant,” Graham said in the statement. “We have spoken with the family. I am making the resources of my office available to them as they deal with this tragedy in such a public fashion.”

Earlier post:

A bicyclist killed by a D.C. National Guard truck assigned to the Nuclear Security Summit has been identified as Constance Holden, 68, of Mount Pleasant.

A man who answered the phone at Holden’s residence identified himself as Holden's husband, and declined to comment.

Holden was hit about 6 p.m. at the corner of 12th and New York Avenue NW by the truck, which a police statement said was assigned to a motorcade security route. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the truck was not part of a motorcade when the incident happened, and the driver of the truck was not injured.

-- Theola Labbé-DeBose and Mary Pat Flaherty