FORT WALTON BEACH — A 28-year-old woman accused of killing a cyclist on Easter Sunday last year has pleaded no contest.
Rhea Reynolds of Niceville is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 21 for leaving the scene of an accident involving death, according to the state attorney’s office.
Harry Robert Crawford, 63, of Destin, was riding his bicycle on Okaloosa Island to an Easter sunrise service April 8, 2012, when he was hit from behind near Gulf Islands National Seashore. He was thrown from his bike and had died by the time emergency crews arrived.
Investigators found parts of a vehicle at the scene. Crime Stoppers reports traced them to Reynolds’ 2004 Chrysler Pacifica.
Reynolds originally pleaded not guilty. She told investigators she was driving home from work when she looked down to ash her cigarette. She said she felt a bump at the front of her vehicle, but did not see anything when she looked in her rearview mirror.
She was arrested last October.
Before her arrest, Crawford’s family publicized the case by placing signs and a bicycle at the crash site along U.S. Highway 98.
Reynolds faces from 21 months to 30 years in prison, according to the state attorney’s office. Okaloosa County Circuit Judge John Brown will preside at the sentencing hearing.
Crawford’s wife, Andi, said she will urge a stiff sentence for Reynolds at the hearing.
“No number of years will bring back my husband, my soul mate, my spiritual adviser, my best friend,” she said.