Des Moines woman gets probation for hitting Fort Collins cyclist, fleeing

Jason Pohl
Mon February 09 2015
Posted Feb 9, 2015
12,723

BIKEIOWA NOTE: Our heart goes out to Jeff Wicks of Fort Collins CO. This is a must read! There are 2 more links near the bottom. Read them all - especially the last link... It carries a very powerful message. What do you think?

A 73-year-old woman on Friday was sentenced to four years of supervised probation, public service and issued a fine for hitting a Fort Collins cyclist and then fleeing the scene.

Jeff Wicks, now 41, on June 14, 2014, was traveling south on Shields Street. The road turns to North Taft Avenue in Loveland, and Wicks continued in the bike lane through a green light and into the intersection of West 29th Street, police said previously.

That's when a northbound white Mazda Protégé, driven by Peggy Brown, turned in front of him. Wicks was unable to stop in time and smashed through the rear passenger-side window and door before crumpling to the street.

Brown, of Des Moines, Iowa, continued driving west. She turned around moments later and saw a group of people gathering around the cyclist, slowly drove past the crowd and the fled south on Taft, reportedly stopping for a moment to inspect the damage before continuing on.

A witness followed her and called police. She was arrested about three miles away, reports indicate.

She told police at the time she could not find a place to pull over near the scene and that she was scared and just wanted to go home.

"I'm very much ashamed of what I did that day," Brown told the court Friday. Pausing between sentences and trembling at times, she offered condolences and said she would give anything to change what happened that day.

"I hope that some day he may find it in his heart to forgive me," she said.

Brown pleaded guilty in November to leaving the scene of an accident — a class-four felony. Wicks, who was in one of his final long rides before competing in IRONMAN Boulder when he was injured, said repeatedly on Friday that he wanted her to complete public service and advocate for accountability and lessons learned.

He also pushed for tougher penalties for motorists who flee the scene including permanent license revocation — a matter handled outside of the courts and instead with the Department of Revenue.

"The accident was not malicious, it was not purposeful, and it was not vengeful," Wicks said, reading a prepared statement. "It was an accident. This I understand and can easily accept. Everything that happened after the accident was intentional."

Wicks, an engineer with OtterBox, was badly injured in the crash and suffered severe facial trauma, a shattered right wrist and serious nerve damage due to gouges in his shoulder. The impact also caused a moderate traumatic brain injury that sometimes still affects his speech.

Eighth Judicial District Chief Judge Stephen Schapanski agreed that jail time was not appropriate and said, in many ways, Brown has already been punished as she has dipped into retirement to pay thousands of dollars in damages.

But by imposing a greater number of community service — 320 hours — in addition to a $3,000 fine separate from restitution, he said the community needed to see that leaving the scene would not be tolerated.

The duration of license revocation was pending. It is a separate matter handled outside of the courts.

Crash Date: June 14th 2014