Advocates upset over ‘light sentence’ of woman who struck, killed bicyclist at South Mountain

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — The woman who hit and killed a bicyclist nearly five years ago at South Mountain Park learned her punishment on Friday and the victim’s father and advocates aren’t happy about it. A judge sentenced 24-year-old Annaleah Dominguez to three years in prison.

On Oct. 29, 2017, Dominguez was driving toward the summit of South Mountain when she crashed into 36-year-old Rob Dollar on his bicycle. He later died. Police said she was drunk and high at the time. “I’ve seen thousands of cases and there are a few cases here and there that you don’t forget. And this is one of those cases,” said Judge Justin Beresky. “When cocaine and methamphetamine are in your urine they were relatively recently taken.”

Dominguez was booked into jail on reckless manslaughter, a class 2 felony, and drug charges but she struck a deal with prosecutors where she pleaded guilty to negligent homicide, a class four felony. Dollar’s father, John, believes the sentence should have been more than three years. Cyclists were outside the courthouse on Friday morning, pushing for justice for Rob Dollar. “Three years for what happened is not really fair,” said John. “When you make a mistake on a vehicle, whether you are impaired or not, if you take a life you’ve got to be responsible.”

“When he was riding with us, he was always coaching and motivating people,” says Kim Rendek, who rode with Dollar.

Shortly after his death, family and friends created the Rob Dollar Foundation to help improve safety for bicyclists. Tap/click here to learn more.

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