Trucker found guilty in bicyclist's death

Posted: Tuesday, March 22, 2016 4:44 pm

By BRANDON SHULLEETA Richmond Times-Dispatch
bshulleeta@timesdispatch.com
(804) 649-6391

A tractor-trailer driver was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter after hitting and killing an 18-year-old bicyclist in Hanover County in a case that hinged on whether the trucker could have done more to avoid her. ... John Edward Hardin, 62, of Fayetteville, N.C., told police immediately after Kristina Cherie Goodrow’s death on June 7 of last year that he saw her “probably 400 or 500 feet” before trying to pass her, but then heard a “thud.”
....

Goodrow was wearing black pants and a dark gray hoodie while riding a bicycle shortly before 11 p.m. in a section of the highway that was not well lit. Several witnesses specifically referred to that stretch of roadway as “dark.”

Just three days before Goodrow’s death, Hanover Sheriff’s Deputy Timothy Hallock happened upon someone at a convenience store who told the deputy that he had almost grazed a bicyclist on U.S. 1. That prompted Hallock to search for the cyclist. He described her as “extremely difficult” to see from afar but clearly visible once he drove closer to her. He said he drove ahead of her and waved her down once she entered a safe, well-lit area, Hallock testified Tuesday.

Hallock said the woman was listening to music and wearing dark clothes. He warned her that if she wasn’t careful, she could be killed. ... After news of Goodrow’s death, Hallock said he recognized her face as the bicyclist he had advised just days prior.