Perry A. Farrell

Detroit Free Press

Michigan’s cycling community was outraged Thursday after a 70-year-old Lima Township man was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay $3,000 in fines and court costs in the Aug. 26 death of Ann Arbor triathlete Karen McKeachie.

McKeachie, 63, of Chelsea was struck and killed while cycling with two others on Dexter-Chelsea Road in Lima Township. Terry Lee Lacroix was trying to pass another vehicle when he hit her, according to Michigan State Police. He pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor charge of a moving violation causing death.

Lacroix was sentenced by Chelsea District Judge Richard Conlin. A total of 170 cyclists, led to the courthouse by a Washtenaw County police escort, sat in the courtroom as the verdict was rendered. Others waited outside the courthouse.

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Jason Aric Jones, advocacy director of the Michigan Mountain Biking Association, called the case "a miscarriage of justice."

"If you ever want to murder someone, the best way to do it is get them on a bike and run them down and say it’s an accident, and you’ll get off paying $3,000. It’ll be suspended if he meets the terms of the probation," Jones said.

Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecutor Yasmin Wint also was disappointed in the judge's ruling.

“I stated my position in court, and the judge didn’t agree with me,’’ said Wint. “I’ve seen other cases where people received jail time. I was hoping at least 30 days would’ve been given, but it was not. You have to accept it for what it is. I asked for a minimum of 30 days jail and that wasn’t given to me.

"There was another case here in our county where the guy wasn’t paying attention. He struck and hit a young man, a cyclist. He was killed. He had no criminal history, and he was given a minimum of 30 days jail and 24 months probation. I was hoping the judge would have taken that case into consideration.

“(Conlin) stated that he reviewed the police report and everybody’s statement, and he decided to give the guy 24 months probation."

Dan Geherin, attorney for Lacroix, said his client showed remorse from the beginning and that the ruling was fair.

"Until 2010, this type of conduct was a felony, and the Legislature brought it down to a misdemeanor because the courts didn't know what to do,'' said Geherin. "This is accidental conduct somehow brought into the criminal courts. When you're dealing with someone with no prior criminal history, no traffic history and who didn't intend an accident, what do you do?

"I think the judge and probation agent hit it dead-on. You give them probation; you make them do community-based service; you take away his driver's license, and you monitor him to make sure he's a good candidate for continued probation.''

McKeachie started competing in triathlons in 1982. She was a 17-time USA triathlon national champion and in 2014, she was inducted into the Triathlon Hall of Fame. The graduate of Chelsea High School and the University of Michigan coached 2000 and 2004 Olympic triathlete Sheila Taormina.

Lew Kidder, her husband for 31 years, said she was just one of six women in the Hall of Fame, and that one other female cyclist tragically met the same fate about 15 years ago.

“The verdict was expected,’’ said Kidder. “We think it’s not the right decision, but it’s expected. As a society, we haven’t come to grips with the fact that bicyclists have the same rights to be on the road as any other vehicle. … In this particular case, what happened was the driver pulled out to pass. He saw these bicyclists and he could’ve stepped on the brakes and got behind the car he was pulling out to pass. Instead, he gunned it and headed right at them.

“It’s a disappointment, and dangerous for bicyclists. In a situation like that, they maybe have two seconds to decide what to do and get off the road. He (Lacroix) admits he was going 70 m.p.h. That’s maybe covering 120 feet a second. If the bicyclist is going 20 m.p.h., which I’m sure they were, that’s another 30 feet a second. That means in two seconds, a football field is gone.’’

McKeachie's sister, Linda Dicks, said her family is devastated.

"My mom is 96 and my dad is 95, and they haven't been the same," Dicks said. "We'd like to see some legislation protecting bicyclists and pedestrians not behind the wheel of a car or truck."

Aneta Kiersnowski of the League of Michigan Bicyclists waited outside the courthouse during the sentencing. She said the goal down the road is to steer the courts toward harsher penalties.

“As you know, the driver pled no contest to a misdemeanor, which is a disappointing plea when we first heard about it,’’ said Kiersnowski. “It’s a loss of this great athlete. The punishment doesn’t seem to fit the crime. The sentence today doesn’t seem to fit the loss that it created.

“We see this often in this state, where cyclists are killed and the person is given a light sentence. There’s general feeling of disappointment and sometimes anger about that.

“We’ve been advocating for vulnerable roadway-user protection for cyclists. It would create harsher penalties for motorists (injuring) bicyclists, wheelchair users and pedestrians. Similar to how if you strike a construction worker while they’re working, there’s a harsher penalty for that. We haven’t had legislation this session, but it is something we will continue to advocate for.’’

Contact Perry A. Farrell: pafarrell@freepress.com