The family of an Arizona State University triathlon champion who was mowed down by a drugged-up driver blasted the 10-year prison sentence the killer received after he admitted to the hit-and-run crash.
Eric Hodge was ordered to 10 years in prison plus an additional five years of probation for the manslaughter of Hannah Henry, a two-time NCAA champion, killed during a morning bike ride on Feb. 8, in Phoenix.
“Hannah didn’t get a plea bargain,” her mother Della Doore said in 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.”
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors recommended to the court a punishment of 10 years in prison, infuriating Henry’s family.
“10 years for killing a young woman who’s just starting her life? She was only 26, 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, 26, was training for an upcoming triathlon and was riding in a designated bike lane in south Phoenix at around 11:30 a.m. when the doped-up driver struck the athlete.
Hodge had swerved his van into the cycling path before jumping onto the sidewalk and back over into the road after the crash, officials said.
The young triathlete was dragged underneath the vehicle, resulting in parts of her clothing being ripped off and stuck to the underside of the van as he fled the scene.
Henry was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hodge was tracked down to his home by police, where damage to his van matched evidence at the scene.
Hodge recalled seeing Henry riding her bike but had fallen asleep behind the wheel because of the drugs he took, which he described as a regular occurrence, he allegedly told police during his arrest.
“When he smokes fentanyl, he passes out randomly and wakes up in different places,” police said in arrest documents viewed by the outlet.
Hodge claimed he was not aware of the accident and believed he had struck a fire hydrant, describing himself as a non-violent person 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 a slew of charges including manslaughter, two counts of leaving an accident with death/injury, two counts of narcotic drug possession and two counts of drug paraphernalia.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and one count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
The killer driver refused to lift his head and look at Henry’s parents as they gave their impact statements during the hearing including when her father showed off home videos of his slained 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 too,” Doore said outside the courthouse Tuesday.
During his chance to speak for sentencing, Hodge apologized to Henry’s family, looking them in the eyes, adding he did not intend to kill Henry.
Henry had competed for the Sun Devils in college and was the back-to-back individual triathlete champion at the US Triathlon Collegiate National Championships in 2017 and 2018.
The star athlete, who raced in her first triathlon when she was 9, had also represented her native Canada at the 2019 Pan American Games, according to the Hannah Henry Foundation.
