Esther Deaver, known as Winston-Salem's 'Bike Lady,' hospitalized after assault

Esther Deaver, a woman known by many in Winston-Salem as the "Bike Lady," is in critical condition following an assault.

Deaver has been a fixture for many years in the area between Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Stratford Road. She’s often been seen walking the streets while pushing a colorful bicycle.

Winston-Salem police say Deaver, who is 85, was physically assaulted in a hospital parking deck and dragged into a stairwell Sunday morning. She is in critical but stable condition.

Police have charged Donald Norwood Jr., 65, with first-degree kidnapping and assault in connection with Deaver’s injuries. Both charges are felonies.

Police say Deaver was homeless at the time of the attack.

Jan Kelly is executive director of Samaritan Ministries, a nonprofit that runs a shelter and soup kitchen. She says people without housing face risks of violence, and for women it’s even more dangerous.

“We do often hear women in the soup kitchen talk about violence or talk about their fear," she says. "We’ve had women who pointed across the room and say ‘That person assaulted me.’” 

In 2020, a homeless woman, Ella Crawley, was brutally beaten in Gateway Commons Park near downtown. She died a short time later. The case remains unsolved.

Kelly says more affordable housing would help people at risk. She says many in the homeless population can afford low-cost housing but there’s not enough availability at that level.