Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP A memorial to retired Hudson police Sgt. Donna Briggs marks the spot along Route 125 in Kingston where she was struck and killed last week. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

LONDONDERRY — A steady stream of family members, friends, fellow police officers and other first responders arrived individually, in couples and groups small and large Sunday afternoon, their somber faces reflecting the pain of losing their beloved Donna Briggs, a loss compounded by the circumstances under which the retired Hudson police officer and “passionate bicyclist” died nearly a week ago.

Dozens of Sgt. Donna Briggs’s brothers and sisters in blue took turns helping mourners find parking, cross busy Mammoth Road, then join the long queue of visitors that snaked out the main entrance to the Peabody funeral home’s Londonderry location.

Morning downpours had given way to mostly sunny skies accompanied by a fairly brisk early-fall breeze by the time the visitation got underway at noon.

Just five days earlier, Donna Ann Briggs, a 59-year-old mother of four and grandmother of two and the longtime wife of Travis Briggs was doing one of the things she loved — pedaling her bicycle — along Route 125 in the Rockingham County town of Kingston, a midday jaunt that was part of her training regimen for an upcoming, 300-mile Police Unity Tour ride.

Briggs was pedaling south on Route 125 when, just after she passed the New Boston Road intersection, an older model GMC Yukon driven by a Dover man, according to police, drifted into the breakdown lane and allegedly struck Briggs from behind, the impact sending her and the bicycle down an embankment.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP A pumpkin with the message "rest in peace Mrs. Briggs" is the centerpiece of a roadside memorial created for retired Hudson police Sgt. Donna Briggs, who was struck and killed last week while riding her bicycle along Route 125 in Kingston. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

The collision occurred around 11:30 a.m., but Briggs wasn’t found for more than eight hours, when Kingston police received a report of a missing bicyclist and began searching the area.

Emergency medical personnel were called to the scene, police said, but Briggs had succumbed to her injuries.

Local and state police promptly launched a manhunt for the suspect, who allegedly fled the scene. Two days later, police arrested 45-year-old Dover resident Craig Sprowl at a Portsmouth hotel, charging him with negligent homicide and conduct after an accident.

Also arrested was Angela Sprowl, who is either Craig Sprowl’s wife or ex-wife, according to police. She faces one count each of hindering apprehension and stalking — domestic violence. The hindering charge accuses her of trying to help Craig Sprowl elude police, apparently stemming from investigators finding the Yukon hidden in the woods behind a Derry car dealership where Craig Sprowl was recently working.

Regarding Craig Sprowl, witnesses who contacted police told them the Yukon continued south on Route 125 for a short distance, then turned around and headed north. Sprowl later told police he was nodding off at the wheel but heard a “bang” that brought him to. He turned around, he told police, to see if he hit something, but told police he didn’t find anything.

Retired Hudson police Sgt. Donna Briggs

Also critical in the investigation were security camera videos from two nearby businesses, police said. Police also located a broken headlight lens at the scene, and were able to track the part number to GMC Yukons manufactured between 2000-2006, and eventually narrow it down to the 2005 Yukon that, they said, Sprowl had bought a month earlier.

Meanwhile, people close to Briggs have launched a GoFundMe account to help her family with “funding of Donna’s memorial service” and to “help ease the burden of her passing.”

The organizers of the account wrote that those interested in helping the family can also do so through a volunteer organization called Meal Train (www.mealtrain.com), which provides meals for people or families dealing with loss, illness or other hardships.

In a tragic coincidence, the spot where Briggs was struck and killed is just down Route 125 from a memorial garden built in memory of East Kingston police Officer Melvin Keddy, who was struck and killed by a drunk driver in September 1995.

Briggs occasionally visited the memorial, friends and colleagues said, and made sure to water the flowers if they needed it.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Floral arrangements, notes, a pumpkin and cross are among the items placed in memory of retired Hudson police Sgt. Donna Briggs, who was struck and killed last week while riding her bicycle along Route 125 in Kingston. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

Now, a second memorial — this one paying tribute to Briggs — has been created about 50-60 yards south of where New Boston Road crosses Route 125.

As for Sprowl, he was arraigned Friday in Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood in front of a large contingent of observers that included family and friends of Briggs and a number of police officers.

Sprowl was ordered held on $500,000 cash bail pending a dispositional conference scheduled for Oct. 25.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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