Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Syracuse man who pleaded guilty to automobile homicide after hitting and killing a cyclist while drunk in 2014 has been sentenced to a year in jail.
The sentence was ordered for Peter Vance Wilcox, 38, on Monday for the death of 50-year-old Mitchell Bennett, an avid cyclist and bike builder, on Sept 25, 2014.
Police say Wilcox hit Bennett as he was riding side-by-side with another cyclist on 900 West near 3160 South just after 11 p.m. Wilcox's vehicle apparently dragged the bicycle "several hundred feet" before stopping, charging documents state. The bike was found with its rear tire still wedged beneath the bumper of the vehicle, the lights on its rear-lighting system still flashing.
Bennett hit the windshield, suffering severe head, neck and back injuries. He died at the hospital five days later.
After the crash, Wilcox abandoned his vehicle and was spotted walking away by Bennett's cycling companion, the charges state. When police confronted him, he initially claimed the vehicle wasn't his.
Wilcox registered a blood-alcohol level of .228 in a breath test, or nearly three times the legal limit, according to police.
In a deal with prosecutors, Wilcox pleaded guilty to automobile homicide negligence by DUI. The charge was entered as a third-degree felony but dropped to a class A misdemeanor carrying a jail sentence rather than prison.
Wilcox was also ordered to pay restitution in the case, which will be determined at a hearing scheduled for Aug. 24.
