Friends have identified the cyclist struck by a car and killed on Bronson Avenue Thursday night as 27-year-old Krista Johnson, an avid runner and cyclist.

Johnson's boyfriend, Ben Boudens, said she was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, but he did not know if she had reflectors in the bicycle or a light.

"She was leaving Carleton University and she was going home. She lived on Gilmour Street … she just left the university on her bicycle with a packsack, had a run-in with a car," said Boudens by phone Friday afternoon.

The couple had been together for about four years.

Police said Johnson was travelling north in the southbound lane of Bronson just south of Holmwood Avenue when she was hit at about 7:45 p.m.

She was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries but she was later pronounced dead.

Johnson, an avid runner and cyclist, was pursuing a master's degree in social work at Carleton University, Boudens said. She was originally from Petawawa and her parents moved to Quebec about five years ago.

Johnson lived in Ottawa during the week and travelled to her home in Pembroke on the weekends where she worked at a health and wellness centre. She was also involved in charity work for children and organized a race to raise money for a youth club earlier this year.

"She was very honest, very caring, very genuine," Boudens said. "[She] looked out for other people … giving. She loved to bake, she loved to cook, she loved food. She was very well liked.

"It's tough. It was like a bad nightmare," Boudens said.

On Friday morning, police said it is too early to determine whether charges will be laid in connection with Johnson's death. The driver of the vehicle that struck Johnson remained at the scene after the collision, police added.

Flags at Carleton University will be flown at half mast on Monday, according to an email sent to Carleton University students Friday. The university's school of social work will also gather on Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in room 2017 in Dunton Tower.

A funeral is scheduled in Pembroke for sometime next week.

Anyone who witnessed the crash is being asked to call the collisions unit at 613-236-1222, ext. 2481.