From the Albuquerque Journal - Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Bicyclist Was Environmentalist

By Hailey Heinz
Journal Staff Writer

A bicyclist who died Mon day night after he was hit by a car was an avid cyclist who loved the environment, his mother said.
Roy Sekreta, 43, died after he was hit by a car while crossing Comanche at the North Diversion Channel at about 6:30 p.m., according to a police report.
Sekreta was cycling to his northeast Albuquerque home, a 10-mile ride from where he works as an engineer at solar panel company UniRac, his mother Elaine Sekreta said.
The bike path along Comanche crosses the road at the North Diversion Channel. Sekreta was crossing the road when he was hit by an eastbound car, according to a police report.
The impact sent Sekreta's body flying to the edge of the westbound lanes. His bicycle flew across the westbound lanes and landed in the diversion channel, according to the report.
The driver, a 25-year-old Albuquerque man, left the scene of the accident but returned about half an hour later, Albuquerque police spokesman John Walsh said. It was not clear Tuesday why the driver left or why he later returned, Walsh said.
No charges have been filed, although the incident is still being investigated. Neither drugs nor alcohol is believed to have been a factor, according to the report.
Sekreta was born in New York and moved to Albuquerque around 1999 because he was drawn by the outdoors, his mother said.
Sekreta had just called his wife, Pi-Ju Wu, moments before the crash to let her know he was on his way home, his mother said. Wu is from Thailand, and the couple lived there for about a year and a half before moving to New Mexico.
As a solar engineer and cyclist, Sekreta was passionate about environmental issues and really believed in his job, his mother said.
Sekreta had no children but has two sisters in New York and a brother in Ohio.