Jury rejects homicide in cyclist death

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - An Albuquerque jury took less than an hour Wednesday to decide Miranda Pacheco was guilty of careless driving and not vehicular homicide when she drove off pavement and killed a bicyclist on a roadside path.

District Judge Denise Barela Shepherd ordered Pacheco taken into custody and held without bond. She faces up to 90 days in jail on the lesser charge versus years in prison had she been convicted of vehicular homicide.

A sentencing hearing was set for Tuesday.

Pacheco was eastbound on Paseo del Norte in March 2010 and had just crossed the Rio Grande when she veered off the six-lane road and hit David Anderson.

Anderson, 56, and his wife were riding bicycles on the bike path running parallel to Paseo del Norte.

Witnesses said Pacheco was speeding and weaving between lanes while the defense challenged witness statements and characterized the crash as an accident.

Investigators found not signs of drug or alcohol use by Pacheco prior to the crash.

A trial last year ended with a hung jury.