PHOENIX — Phoenix police say a man driving a commercial van was arrested for hitting and killing a bicyclist in south Phoenix on Sunday, Feb. 8.
The incident occurred just after 11:15 a.m. on Central Avenue near Elwood Street, which is just north of Broadway Road.
The driver, identified by police as 46-year-old Eric Hodge, was heading southbound on Central Avenue when he swerved onto the bicycle lane and sidewalk, rear-ending a female bicyclist. Hodge allegedly kept driving after the collision.
The bicyclist, identified by police as ASU alumna 26-year-old Hannah Henry, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police obtained video that captured the incident and was able to identify the make and model of the vehicle, which led them to Hodge.
When police spoke with Hodge, he admitted to taking drugs, including fentanyl, prior to the incident and said that he thought he had hit a fire hydrant.
He also told police that he kept driving because he was on his way to buy more drugs.
Hodge was taken into custody and is being held on a $750,000 cash bond on a charge of reckless manslaughter.
Henry was well-known in the ASU athletic community. She won two individual triathlon titles in 2017 and 2018 during her tenure at ASU from 2017-2021.
“We lost an incredible person who had wonderful relationships in our program,” said Sun Devil Triathlon head coach Cliff English. “Her passing has us filled with grief because she was more than a great student-athlete, she was a proud graduate of Arizona State who cared deeply about the program and everyone that was and is a part of it.”
