RICHMOND, VA—A Richmond jury recommended a three year sentence for Elias Webb, the Richmond man they found guilty of felony hit-and-run after a July wreck left a bicyclist dead.
A jury recommended three years in prison; he faced a maximum of 10 years. A sentencing hearing is set to be held May 16.
The jury Wednesday convicted Elias Webb of felony hit and run in connection with the July 2012 death of 24-year-old bicyclist Lanie Kruszewski.
It took the jury of four men and 10 women just less than three hours to reach a guilty verdict, but the jurors were unable to agree on a recommended sentence Wednesday and meet again Thursday to continue deliberations.
During the trial, Elias Webb took the stand in his own defense. Webb told the jury that although he'd had a glass and a half of wine with dinner the night of the accident, he was absolutely not impaired.
He testified that an online article he read the morning after the fatal crash made him start to think the worst. He said he went back out to his vehicle and realized that there was no way he had hit a deer the night before, as he thought initially.
He went on to tell the court that he "freaked out," grabbed a golf club and smashed the rest of his windshield, which was already damaged from the crash the night before. He then went inside, laid down and cried.
He said that during this time, he even thought of harming himself.
Webb admitted he was driving the vehicle and turned himself into police a week after the wreck.
Recently released court documents show Webb had been drinking alcohol the night of the crash.
Prosecutors also said Webb's car sustained damage on the hood and windshield, and that Kruszewksi's blood, hair and clothing were found on the windshield.
Kruszewksi was wearing reflective clothing and had lights on the bike she was riding. The prosecution said her body was found 109 feet from where she was struck by the SUV Webb was driving.
The prosecution has shown Webb's lengthy driving record includes 11 citations since 2000—five of those for spending. He has no criminal history.
Lanie Kruszewski, 24, was riding her bike eastbound on River Road when police say a vehicle traveling in the same direction struck her. The vehicle continued without stopping.
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Copyright 2013 by Young Broadcasting of Richmond
