Driver charged with death of bicyclist hit Tuesday in Durham County

Russell Grant Rutledge, 33, was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

Troopers said Eugene Howard Rotberg, 66, of Raleigh, was riding on N.C. Highway 98 near Cheek Road when he was struck by Rutledge's 2016 Chevrolet pickup truck. Rotberg was thrown from his bike and landed on the shoulder of the road.

Wake County school officials said Rotberg was a physical education teacher who retired from Dillard Drive Elementary school in 2015. He has worked at the school since 2007 and had been with the district since 2004.

"Mr. Rotberg had been a big part of our school family for years and was very loved," Dillard Drive Principal James Douglas said in a statement. "He was a wonderful person and will be greatly missed by the students and staff here at Dillard Drive Elementary School. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends."

According to a Facebook post, Rotberg was an employee at Life Time Cycle in Raleigh and "devoted his life to working with children and passing on the love of cycle."