‘We’ve seen radical forgiveness’: Widow of KC bicyclist, father of 10, reacts to arrest
Charles Criniere’s wife doesn’t have any animosity towards the woman who killed her husband. In fact, she said, she forgives her.
When Megan Criniere learned that someone had been charged in the hit-and-run bicycle crash that took Charles Criniere’s life near Longview Lake last month, she said many of the initial feelings from that day resurfaced: shock, pain, fear.
Criniere, 43, a beloved husband, teacher and father to 10, was also a middle school math teacher at Martin City K8 and a deacon at Grace Point Baptist Church in Kansas City.
He was a man many describe as an “encourager.” Working with youth, especially those from troubled backgrounds or without fathers, was Criniere’s calling, motivated by some of his own experiences growing up in Chicago, loved ones said.
“My husband, he came out of some pretty rough beginnings. So did I,” Megan Criniere told reporters Thursday. “We came out of some pretty broken situations and so we’ve seen radical forgiveness from God, we’ve seen radical forgiveness from people, and I think it would be criminal not to respond like that.”
I don’t know how I could hold something against somebody when I’ve experienced so much forgiveness.”
Wisconsin woman arrested
On Tuesday, the Jackson County Prosecutors Office announced charges against Kyrie Fields, 27, of Oregon, Wisconsin, who is accused of hitting Criniere while driving a white Acura MDX. She faces two felony charges of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, and tampering with a motor vehicle in the first degree, court records show.
At about 6:15 a.m. on Aug. 27, Kansas City police were called to the site of a crash on View High Drive near the intersection of Longview Road, close to Metropolitan Community College’s Longview campus. Criniere, who often spent Saturday mornings praying and riding his bike before his children woke up, was declared dead at the scene.
Fields told police she took her eyes off the road to text a friend when she struck Criniere on his bicycle. She also told police that she was high on Percocet at the time of the crash. Fields was driving on a suspended license and was uninsured, according to court records.
The next day, Grandview police found the suspect vehicle, which appeared to have been set on fire near US 71 Highway.
Prosecutors asked that Fields’ bond be set at $100,000.
A teacher and ‘encourager’: KC cyclist, father of 10 killed in hit-and-run remembered
‘Radical generosity’
In the past three weeks, the community has come together to support the Criniere family.
Someone put a new roof on their house. Shelves full of diapers and toilet paper sit in their basement. A stranger in Mexico donated more than $160,000 to pay off the rest of their mortgage.
“We’ve seen radical generosity,” Criniere said. “We’re such small people. I mean, we live such mundane lives. (Charles) went to work every day. I home-schooled the kids every day and we played on our front lawn.”
As of Thursday, a GoFundMe created for the family had raised more than $206,000.
A memorial bicycle ride, called “Bright Lights for Charlie,” is planned for Saturday. Cyclists will have the opportunity to ride up to 100 miles around Longview Lake in Criniere’s memory. All proceeds will help support the Criniere’s.
In the moments of tears and uncertainty, Criniere said their children have shown enormous strength as they learn to keep getting up each day and do what they’ve always done. And each of them carries a bit of their father’s “wild, fun spirit,” she said.
“We play, we eat, we do chores, we do school,” she said. “We’ve just got to keep moving.”
Criniere knows she won’t be alone raising the nine children who remain at home. Parenting was always a journey the Criniere’s felt they were called to rather than equipped for, she said. They asked for a lot of help and support through the years, and she will continue doing the same.
‘Make amends with your past’
Criniere believes her family’s story has been sobering to so many because it could have been anyone out there on their bike.
She hopes it reminds people not to take any days for granted, and that every day is an opportunity to make amends with their past and have hope in the future.
“You don’t have to stay broken,” she said. “You can become something completely brand new. That’s (Charles’) life story. That’s what he loved the most about telling kids in the classroom.”
While her own children are front of mind, she thinks often of the students her husband influenced, too.
He was a high school drop-out who by the end of his life was a teacher with multiple degrees. While raising his family, Criniere also earned a masters degree in education. He was in the process of pursuing an Advanced Masters in Educational Coaching when he was killed, loved ones said.
“I think that’s one of the things that my husband did the best was that he made peace with living every moment with lots of love, and it just made a huge impact,” she said.
