South Carolina man pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter of Utah cyclist

Matthew Burke (center) with his
wife, Bonnie, and daughter,
Anna (right)
(Photo: Paul Burke)

Today, Peg McEntee of the Salt Lake Tribune reported that the man who collided with and killed a Utah cyclist on October 1, 2010, has pleaded guilty in a plea deal for involuntary manslaughter, an offense with a maximum term of 5 years in prison. This sentence was suspended, replaced with a shorter 90 day term – to be served on weekends. For Matthew Burke’s family, it was “some measure of justice”.

According to the Tribune article,

Burke was riding with 14 friends on a country road when Johnson hit him and four others. One rider said he’d heard “a very loud rumble” — apparently when Johnson revved his engine — an instant before impact. Another said she thought he was going to buzz the group, a common irritant by annoyed drivers.

The riders were hugging the side of a straight stretch of road. All were in single file except Burke and Scott Moore, their handlebars inches apart as they rode, legally, abreast. All wore bright clothes, helmets and reflective gear, and all but two bikes had flashing LED lights.

Johnson told Highway Patrol troopers he was distracted when he hit the riders, but also said he was reaching for his sunglasses, that papers had fallen from the dashboard, and that the sun was in his eyes.

The sun was behind him, Burke and the others.

An army doctor, soldier in Iraq, and father to a young daughter, Anna Ryan Burke, Matthew Burke will be missed by his friends and family in Utah and abroad.

Read the full article here.

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