A Bremerton woman is serving nine months in jail for killing a Port Orchard bicyclist on Mile Hill Drive last year, according to Kitsap County Superior Court documents.
Delores Magneson, 60, is currently in Kitsap County Jail after pleading guilty in August to one count of vehicular homicide in the death of 41-year-old Craig Hatt in September 2007.
The following month on Sept. 24, a year and two weeks after Hatt’s death, Magneson was sentenced to a nine-month term in jail and 18 to 36 months in community custody.
According to the probable cause statement prepared by the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Magneson was driving westbound on Mile Hill Drive between Alaska and California avenues around 6 p.m. Sept. 8, 2007, when her car veered into the shoulder and struck Hatt, a Port Orchard resident, who was riding in the bike lane near her vehicle.
Spokesman Deputy Scott Wilson said Hatt was struck from behind and hit the car’s bumper, hood and windshield, and was severely injured.
Wilson said when South Kitsap Fire & Rescue personnel arrived on-scene, they were able to locate a “heartbeat, but while en-route to South Kitsap High School to prepare the victim to be airlifted, he expired before they got there.”
When a deputy responded to the scene of the accident, Magneson explained that her windshield had “fogged-up” and she was pulling over to “wipe it off” when she struck Hatt, whom she said she did not see.
While checking Magne-son’s driver’s license record, the deputy noted its status was “cancelled.” When he asked her why, she immediately said “My eyes,” explaining that she has a diabetic condition that causes her eyes to degrade, and she has had cataract surgery on both eyes.
The deputy learned later after contacting the Washington State Depart-ment of Licensing that Magneson’s license had been cancelled due to her not providing a required vision certificate.
The deputy also noted that she had five collisions on her record, two reported to law enforcement and three only reported to her insurance company.
“The overall theme to these collisions was that ‘she did not see the other vehicle,’” the deputy wrote.
At the end of his report, the deputy recommended Magneson be charged with vehicular homicide, pointing to “her driving on a cancelled license, failing to yield to or see the bicyclist and history of collisions” as evidence of her “disregard for the safety of others.”
