An Upper Arlington man was sentenced this morning to three years in prison for striking a Dispatch business reporter riding a bicycle in November. Andrew S. Inglis, 31, of Lafayette Drive, also must pay a $10,000 fine and $20,000 in restitution for hitting Steve Wartenberg on McCoy Road in Upper Arlington.

An Upper Arlington man cried yesterday in a Franklin County courtroom as he apologized for nearly killing a bicyclist while driving under the influence of drugs last year.

�I know my words probably don�t mean much, but I am so sorry,� Andrew Inglis said, wiping his eyes with a tissue.

Inglis, 31, who pleaded guilty in August to aggravated vehicular assault, was sentenced to three years in prison for the crash that gravely injured Steve Wartenberg, a Dispatchbusiness reporter.

The sentence, imposed by visiting Common Pleas Judge Alan Travis, was recommended by prosecution and defense attorneys as part of a plea agreement. The judge fined Inglis $10,000, ordered him to pay $20,000 in restitution and suspended his driver�s license for 10 years, the maximum for the offense.

Wartenberg, 56, told the judge that the crash occurred because Inglis �just didn�t care about other people. ... The safety of others wasn�t an issue.�

Inglis struck Wartenberg from behind on McCoy Road near Kenny Road at 11:44 a.m. on Nov. 3 and drove away. Some witnesses stopped to assist Wartenberg while others pursued the fleeing driver. Inglis failed field-sobriety tests.

�In the midst of the worst of humanity,� represented by a drug-impaired driver running him down and fleeing, �the best of humanity came out that day� in the form of those who rushed to assist him or helped catch Inglis, Wartenberg said.

Wartenberg, who writes the � Best Bike Blog Ever� for Dispatch.com and is captain of the newspaper�s Pelotonia team, was hospitalized in critical condition.

His wife, Susan Cunningham, described for the judge her husband�s injuries, which included a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain, facial fractures, three fractured vertebrae, a broken shoulder, a broken ankle, seven broken ribs and a collapsed left lung.

�A medical miracle saved Steve and saved (Inglis) from murder charges,� she said.

Wartenberg is back at work and riding his bike, �but we do little else,� Cunningham said.

She said his brain tires easily and might never fully heal. �We don�t know if he�ll have a day without mental fatigue, ever,� she said.

Inglis, of Lafayette Drive, has spent months in treatment for drug and alcohol addiction since the crash, said his attorney, George S. Breitmayer III.

Inglis said he wants to come out of prison �a better person ... and help someone else from making the same mistake.�

Wartenberg also expressed hope that �some good will come of this.� Many in the cycling community �are scared,� he said, �knowing it could have been them.�

The outcome of the case, he said, �should send a message to make the roads safer for all cyclists in central Ohio.�

jfutty@dispatch.com

@johnfutty