A driver who was drunk when he fatally injured a high school math teacher on a bicycle, then fled the scene, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison.
Lucas James Guidroz, 28, of Canyon Country pleaded no contest Oct. 4 to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run driving resulting in death.
Guidroz was driving a 2014 Lexus CT200h SUV and struck Roderick Bennett, 53, of Valencia at 4:40 p.m. May 25 on Placerita Canyon Road, just east of the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway in Santa Clarita, authorities said. Bennett died at the scene.
Investigators found the Lexus two days later in Canyon Country, and Guidroz surrendered a short time later.
Bennett had been riding on the far right of the eastbound lane of Placerita Canyon Road when his bike was struck from behind by a vehicle that continued eastbound, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Bennett was a well-regarded math teacher and band director at Arroyo Seco Junior High School in Valencia.
