An infamous racist filmed screaming ‘N*****’ at a group of Black Lives Matter protesters has died after stepping out in front of a truck. Rachel Ruit, 41, died on Tuesday, a day after she was struck by an Asheville Fire Department Truck in Asheville, North Carolina.

Police are investigating Ruit’s death, and say they believe it was accidental. A powerful photo taken shortly after she was fatally injured showed an unidentified black woman praying over the racist as paramedics tried to save her.

Eyewitness Jonathan Rowell captured the photo, and said that Ruit – who was filmed hurling racist abuse last month – did not appear to have stepped out in front of the truck deliberately.

Rowell wrote: ‘Some of you probably saw the video of a white lady near the Vance Monument screaming “Ni**er, Ni**er” seeing as how the video went viral on Facebook…

‘I just witnessed the same lady from that video accidentally step out into traffic on Patton Avenue, going towards downtown Asheville, as she was walking with traffic coming from behind her…the Asheville Fire Department truck that you see in the background is the vehicle that she stepped out in front of…

‘There were over a dozen bystanders that had come to see what was going on…and then there was 1 lady who was praying out loud & I mean praying very intensely…begging God to please let this lady survive…

‘And that 1 person was the Black lady standing right in front of me in this picture. Praying & praying & praying and in tears for coincidentally the same woman who was yelling the N word with such hatred in her heart. Just sayin.’

Ruit shouted ‘Fuck! N*****’ then gave the finger to Aisha Sabur in Asheville, North Carolina, last month.

Sabur was filmed remonstrating with Ruit, who then screamed: ‘Touch me n****. Touch me and you go to jail. Touch me bitch!’

A group of white Black Lives Matter activists then stepped in to defend Sabur and her family, only to face the same vile slurs from Ruit.

One woman who walked over to here was told: ‘Touch me bitch. Fuck you n*****.’ Ruit then screeched ‘Touch me n*****’ at that woman’s white friend four times, before storming off.

The video was widely-shared online, with Sabur calling Ruit’s behavior: ‘the most blatant display of racism that I have ever experienced.

Speaking to CNN, Sabur added: ‘She wanted me to know that, “If you touch me, I will call the police and you will be held accountable,” and that’s a big part of why I didn’t lose my cool.’

North Carolina does not have hate speech laws, but Ruit was charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct over the racist incident. That investigation is now likely to be dropped in the wake of her death.

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