ASHEVILLE - Ever since her fiancé Leonard "Lennie" Antonelli was killed in a collision with a dump truck in Marshall in July 2025, Maddie Barondeau has been doing her best to make sure wrecks like these don't happen again.
Antonelli's fiancé, Maddie Barondeau, 26, of Asheville, and Woodfin resident Adam Smith, 40, have drafted a resolution, the Leonard Antonelli and Jacob Hill Bicycle Safety Zone Act of 2025, also known as "Lennie's Law," which proposes stricter enforcement to posted speed limits on popular cycling routes in North Carolina.
Just before 6:45 p.m. on July 1, 2025, Antonelli, 27, and Jacob Hill, 32, both of Asheville, were struck and killed on their bicycles along N.C. 251, roughly five miles from the Buncombe County border after
a dump truck driver veered left of center, striking the two cyclists head on. A third cyclist, Griffin Tichenor, was injured.
"Some state roads can limit commercial traffic, but since you can't do that on N.C. 251, it would be good to have another tool in the toolkit for N.C. 251 and other roads like it," Barondeau said. "Incentivizing driving slower is that tool. I appreciate everyone embracing the progress over perfection mindset.
"Perfection is having the infrastructure and the culture of respecting all road users. Progress is doing whatever you can quickly to slow down cars."
Madison County District Attorney Seth Banks said a toxicology report revealed Mundy tested positive for methamphetamine, amphetamines and THC. But Banks said a flawed investigation also played a role in the case, as roughly four hours elapsed between the wreck and the time of Mundy's blood draw.
Cody Dale Mundy, 34, of Alexander, pleaded guilty in Madison County Superior Court May 14 to two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Mundy agreed to a plea deal May 14 in which he will be on house arrest for six months, will serve five years of probation and perform 200 hours of community service within the next year. Mundy received a suspended sentence of 32 to 58 months as part of the deal.
Honoring Antonelli and Hill
Barondeau told The Citizen Times she's had the idea to work on close to 10 state policies in the aftermath of Antonelli's death — which occurred just two days after Antonelli and Barondeau were engaged to be married — including one that would require a mandatory drug test for each fatal crash.
On Aug. 20, the French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization, a group of 23 people from more than 20 local governments, as well as staff from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, and representatives of local transportation and planning staff who advise on the budget, plans and policies for the region’s roads, became the latest board to approve of the policy.
Barondeau and Adam Smith, who knew Antonelli from his time working with Liberty Bikes in Asheville, said Antonelli's death was "like a gut punch." Just a week after the wreck, Smith proposed the idea of designating Riverside Drive as a bicycle safety zone to the Woodfin Parks and Community Enrichment Committee, which he chairs.
A few months later, Smith was at the Black Bear Half-Marathon in Hendersonville, and was explaining his idea for Bicycle Safety Zones to another marathon participant, who just so happened to be Barondeau.
"To me, it was this total serendipitous connection," Smith said. Just four days later, on Oct. 16, 2025, the two presented to the French Broad River MPO for the first time.
Now, "Lennie's Law" has gained support from Asheville City Council, Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, Black Mountain Town Council, Weaverville Town Council and Woodfin Town Council. At an Aug. 20 meeting, the 19 MPO members unanimously approved the resolution.
The resolution calls for establishing a Bicycle Safety Zone along the French Broad Overview, a 17-mile North Carolina scenic byway spanning parts of N.C. 251 and U.S. 25-70, from Woodfin to Marshall, on a winding road along the French Broad River.
Lennie's Law also calls for increased signage, enforcement and penalties for certain traffic violations within these Bicycle Safety Zones, including potentially double to triple the infraction costs for speeding.
"Speeding is among the top three factors that lead to fatal road collisions in the United States, along with distracted driving and impairment," Smith said, pointing to an Aug. 18 AAA report which found that drivers generally prefer countermeasures that encourage safer speeds over those that force them to slow down.
"Speeding compounds all of them, and it's almost always a factor. It makes the collision more impactful and violent and it reduces your reaction time," said Smith.
Smith said the urgency for Bicycle Safety Zones was underscored after two members of the Milligan University cycling team were killed and another seven people injured when they were struck by a vehicle in Hampton, Tennessee Aug. 19.
"I think at the heart of this is a recognition that the infrastructure we need to make our region safer is a slow-moving thing," said MPO Director Tristan Winkler, adding that the resolution is another tool out there to help improve safety.
Support for the resolution paves the way for the team to take the resolution to the state General Assembly, said Woodfin Mayor Jim McAllister, who added that another cyclist collision is one of his biggest fears in Woodfin, especially as the town gets ready to bring its whitewater wave Taylor's Wave project, which will bring more foot and bicyclist traffic to the town, he said.
"This gives us a collaborative approach but also a way to advocate at the state level," Asheville City Councilmember Kim Roney said. "I appreciate the work that's been done by impacted community members to make sure that preventable incidents don't happen."
Barondeau said it is "energizing" to get unanimous support from the MPO.
"The fact that leaders in the community support having another tool in the toolkit, it gives me comfort that they are doing whatever they can to try to prevent these, and that's what I asked them to do," she said.
In its April meeting, the MPO established a Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee.
The nine-member board is made up of five members appointed by the board, as well as a member appointed by Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson and Madison Counties. Barondeau was officially named to the board Aug. 20.
Next steps
Barondeau founded a North Carolina chapter of The White Line, a Colorado-based organization created with the goal of ending road deaths and making safer streets for everyone, including cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers alike, according to its website.
Barondeau and Smith said they hope to keep building on the resolution's momentum, and plan to try making Lennie's Law a statewide policy.
According to Barondeau, DOT officials, including former MPO Chair Chuck McGrady, a former Republican member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for the 117th district, have been supportive of the project.
"All too often, we make laws that start at the top and come down. It would be better if they start at the bottom and go up in the food chain," McGrady said Aug. 20 of the resolution. Buncombe County Commissioner Drew Ball, echoed McGrady's and pointed to DOT data that shows Asheville had the highest statewide per capita rate of fatal bike crashes with cars.
Since she appeared before the MPO in October, Barondeau said she's encouraged after seeing that DOT has increased signage and reduced the speed limit from 55 miles per hour to 40 miles per hour along stretches of N.C. 251.
Tim Anderson, an NCDOT division engineer, said the more robust signing approach has made a difference.
Moving forward, Anderson said deciding the threshold data will be one of the main considerations for the team.
The threshold data could be a percentage of bikes versus cars, or could instead use the data as a tool to help guide bicyclists to places where it's a little easier to safely bike compared to other places. Either way, establishing those thresholds and setting that process needs to be part of that law, Anderson said.
"If you save just one life from this, it's completely worth it," said MPO Chair Anthony Sutton.
Johnny Casey is the Madison County communities reporter for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or jcasey@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: WNC boards approve 'Lennie's Law'; could increase bike safety in N.C.
