Hollowell was biking to his job at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where he worked as an information technology specialist, when he was struck about 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 24 near 12th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Authorities said Peoples struck the cyclist at a high speed, fled the scene and initially lied to authorities about his involvement.

During an emotional two-hour hearing in D.C. Superior Court on Friday, Hollowell’s three adult children and wife each spoke of the husband, father and grandfather who loved biking the seven miles to work each day for 25 years.

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“I do not hate Phillip Peoples. I have no desire for him to have a lengthy jail time,” Hollowell’s daughter Irena Hollowell said, urging the judge to make sure the sentence included doing work on behalf of bicycle and traffic safety.

But Hollowell’s wife, Carol, expressed heartbreak. “My husband was brutally, seemingly purposely struck. This action was murder. It was deliberate. This was not involuntary. This was disrespecting life. He was struck and left on the road to die.”

According to police and court records, Hollowell was thrown from his bike and landed in the middle of the intersection. He suffered head and other injuries and was taken in critical condition to a hospital, where he died.

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As part of the plea deal, Peoples’s attorney R. William Hale and prosecutor Edward O’Connell agreed to a sentence of 12 months to 36 months. Both sides noted that Peoples, who has been in jail since October, pleaded guilty soon after his arrest. Peoples was initially charged with second-degree murder but reached a deal to plead to the lesser charge.

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O’Connell asked Judge Ronna L. Beck to sentence Peoples to the full three years. In seeking a lesser sentence, Hale noted that his client had no prior arrests and took responsibility for his actions.

Peoples’s attorney said his client was running late for work at a local Safeway that morning and the road was wet from rain.

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In court Friday, Peoples watched Hollowell’s family members as they tearfully recalled fond memories of a man who taught them to cherish the environment and have compassion for people around them.

They spoke of the moment they received the phone call from Hollowell’s co-workers that he had been involved in a horrific accident.

Peoples then stood and asked for forgiveness from the Hollowell family. “I want to offer my deepest and sincere apologies. I deeply regret my actions. I will forever be haunted by my actions of that morning,” he said.

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In addition to prison, Beck also sentenced Peoples to five years of supervised probation and psychiatric counseling and to successfully complete a bicycle and traffic safety program.