Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 32-year-old woman named Margaret Caitlin Walker has been sentenced to eight years in prison, followed by three years of probation. This comes after she entered a plea of nolo contendere to charges of driving under the influence, leading to the death of a bicyclist, Zeshan Haider, on November 27, 2022.

According to an investigation by the Gainesville Police Department (GPD), an accident occurred when a Volvo collided with a bicyclist on S. Main Street, near SE 33rd Place, around 6:20 p.m. on November 27. The impact sent Haider flying off the roadway, and he landed in the nearby wooded area beside the public sidewalk, where he was discovered at 9:40 a.m. the following day.

Detectives at the scene found various parts from the Volvo, which allowed them to identify the car’s make and model involved in the incident. The vehicle was located on November 30 after a citizen informed authorities about a vehicle that matched the description from a GPD bulletin. An Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy then stopped the Volvo for a traffic offense, and the driver confirmed Walker as the vehicle’s owner.

Post Miranda, the driver said Walker had asked him to take the Volvo to a body shop to repair the damage from the crash. He said Walker told him she had hit a sign on S. Main Street.

Walker turned herself in on January 11, 2023. Post Miranda, she reportedly said she was driving the Volvo on November 27 and that she had consumed multiple alcoholic beverages at multiple locations on that date. She reportedly said she felt “tipsy” when she left the last location, to the extent that her normal faculties were impaired; she said the crash happened when she looked down to adjust the music and that she stopped to check her vehicle but thought she had hit a sign. She reportedly said she didn’t report the crash because she didn’t want points on her driver’s license. She was released on $100,000 bail.

Walker was previously convicted of misdemeanor DUI in 2013 in another county.

On June 2, 2025, Walker entered a plea of nolo contendere to DUI manslaughter with a sentence of eight years in prison, followed by three years of probation, and permanent driver’s license revocation. As part of the agreement, a hit and run charge was dropped. According to the plea document, the maximum sentence for the charge is 15 years in prison. Judge William E. Davis signed the plea agreement and sentencing document.