The family of Hannah Henry, an Arizona State University triathlon champion killed by a drug-impaired driver, condemned the 10-year prison sentence handed down after the motorist pleaded guilty in the fatal hit-and-run.
Eric Hodge was sentenced to 10 years behind bars followed by five years of probation for manslaughter in Henry’s death. The 26-year-old was struck while riding her bicycle during a morning training session in Phoenix on Feb. 8.
“Hannah didn’t get a plea bargain,” her mother, Della Doore, told the court Tuesday, according to AZFamily. “When he got behind the wheel after taking fentanyl, he gave Hannah the death sentence. All she was doing was riding her bike on a Sunday morning. Thank you for hearing me.”
Under the plea agreement, prosecutors recommended a 10-year prison term, a proposal that left Henry’s family outraged.
“Ten years for killing a young woman who was just starting her life? She was only 26 and had just bought a condo,” Doore said before the sentencing, according to the outlet. “She had goals. She had dreams, and I don’t get to see that. We don’t get to see her get married. We don’t get to see her have babies.”
Henry was preparing for an upcoming triathlon and riding in a designated bike lane in south Phoenix at about 11:30 a.m. when Hodge’s van struck her, authorities said.
After swerving into the cycling lane, Hodge drove onto the sidewalk and then returned to the roadway following the collision, officials said.
Henry was pulled beneath the van, tearing away portions of her clothing that became lodged underneath the vehicle as Hodge drove from the scene.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police later traced Hodge to his home, where damage to his van matched evidence recovered from the crash site.
Hodge told investigators that he remembered seeing Henry on her bicycle but had fallen asleep at the wheel after taking drugs. He allegedly said that passing out was a regular occurrence.
“When he smokes fentanyl, he passes out randomly and wakes up in different places,” police wrote in arrest documents reviewed by the outlet.
Hodge claimed he did not realize he had struck a person and thought he had hit a fire hydrant. He described himself as nonviolent and someone who “tries to work every day.”
“I’m so heartbroken. I would trade my life for hers in a second if I could. That’s all I can say, but I was asleep. I didn’t see that I hit anybody. I would have stopped, I really would,” he told police.
Hodge was initially charged with manslaughter, two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death or injury, two counts of narcotics possession and two counts of possessing drug paraphernalia.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to manslaughter and one count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
During the sentencing hearing, Hodge kept his head down and did not look at Henry’s parents as they delivered impact statements. He also avoided eye contact while Henry’s father played home videos of his daughter.
“He had his head down the whole time. He didn’t see, but he did hear Hannah’s laugh, which is always in every room that we go to,” Doore said outside the courthouse Tuesday.
When given an opportunity to speak, Hodge apologized to Henry’s family while looking at them and said he never intended to kill her.
Henry competed for the Sun Devils and won back-to-back individual titles at the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships in 2017 and 2018.
She entered her first triathlon at age 9 and later represented her native Canada at the 2019 Pan American Games, according to the Hannah Henry Foundation.
