MARTINEZ, Calif. — A 55-year-old El Sobrante man was sentenced to two years in prison Thursday for striking a Martinez cyclist with his vehicle in 2008 and then leaving him to die on the side of the road.
Harold Brown was driving on McEwen Road near state Highway 4 on the evening of Nov. 24, 2008, when he crossed over the double yellow lines into the opposite lane and struck 49-year-old Mark Pendleton head on, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Brown then fled the scene and hid his vehicle to avoid being caught, Pendleton’s family members said.
An off-duty fire captain from Crockett found Pendleton shortly after he was hit and called for medical assistance, but Pendleton died at the scene, the CHP said.
Brown was not arrested until June 2, 2009, when investigators finally got a phone call that led them to a friend of Brown’s, who told them he was the driver who had hit Pendleton, investigators said.
The East Bay Bicycle Coalition put up a “ghost bike” at the site to remind people that Pendleton’s killer was still out there. After the bike was stolen twice, Denise Pendleton and her sons camped out at the site overnight to see if the person stealing the bike was the driver who killed Pendleton.