A Maricopa County judge has stuck to a contested plea deal and sentenced Eric Hodge to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of probation, for killing former Arizona State University triathlete Hannah Henry in a Phoenix hit-and-run crash in February. The sentencing on Tuesday, November 10, accepted the plea agreement prosecutors had recommended, AZFamily (KPHO) reported — over the public objection of Henry's family, who had urged the judge to reject the deal.
Source: AZFamily / KPHO, Nov 10, 2026
Hodge had pleaded guilty to manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Police say he struck Henry in a designated bike lane and left the scene, according to AZFamily's reporting of Tuesday's hearing.
What happened on Central Avenue on February 8
Henry, 26, was on a training ride on her bicycle in south Phoenix on the late morning of Sunday, February 8, when she was struck on Central Avenue, near Elwood Street. According to investigators, Hodge, 46, was high on fentanyl when he fell asleep at the wheel, veered into the bike lane around 11:30 a.m. and hit her, then drove away, leaving her behind. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Source: Phoenix Focal, reporting investigators and court documents, Nov 10, 2026
Hodge was arrested and initially charged with reckless manslaughter, leaving the scene of a deadly crash, possession of narcotic drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia, February reporting said. His guilty plea to manslaughter and leaving the scene resolved the case without a trial, and Tuesday's hearing was about one question only: whether the judge would accept the 10-year term the plea deal carried.
'Ten years for killing a young woman who's just starting her life?'
Henry's parents fought the deal in the open. Her mother, Della Doore, called the recommended sentence 'pathetic' before the hearing. 'Ten years for killing a young woman who's just starting her life? She was only 26, just bought a condo,' Doore said. 'She had goals. She had dreams, and I don't get to see that. We don't get to see her get married. We don't get to see her have babies.'
Source: Phoenix Focal, family statements, Nov 10, 2026
Her father, Sean Henry, drew a contrast between his daughter and the man who killed her: 'She had a purpose in life and she was going to make a difference. What a contrast to the killer who could only think about where he was going to get his next dose of fentanyl.' The family had planned to attend the sentencing and address Hodge directly. The judge accepted the deal anyway — a reminder that in a plea agreement, the family's view is heard, but the decision belongs to the court.
Hodge was not convicted by a jury. He pleaded guilty, prosecutors recommended 10 years, the family asked the judge to reject that as too lenient, and the judge accepted the deal on November 10, adding five years of probation after the prison term.
Who Hannah Henry was
Henry was a Canadian triathlete from Victoria, British Columbia, who became one of the defining athletes of Arizona State's varsity triathlon program. She won back-to-back USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships in 2017 and 2018 while competing for the Sun Devils, graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in business entrepreneurship in 2021 and a Master of Global Management in 2023, and raced for Canada at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, where she helped win silver in the mixed relay.
Source: Hannah Henry biography, Wikipedia, citing ASU and Triathlon Canada
A memorial ride and a ghost-bike ceremony in February drew the Arizona cycling community together, and her family and their lawyers said at the time they would press both the criminal case and civil avenues. Tuesday's sentencing closes the criminal case's central question — how long Hodge spends in prison — without closing the argument about whether 10 years is proportionate to a life like hers.
The wider argument: fentanyl, impairment and bike lanes
The case has renewed attention in Phoenix on two problems at once. The first is fentanyl-impaired driving: investigators say a driver who had taken fentanyl fell asleep in late morning, in daylight, and drifted into a lane where a cyclist had every legal right to be. The second is cyclist exposure on arterial roads like Central Avenue, where a painted, designated bike lane is the only separation between a rider and multi-lane traffic.
What happens next
Hodge now begins the 10-year prison term, with five years of probation to follow his release. For Henry's family, the criminal sentence is set; what remains is the civil side they signalled in February and the public argument they have already won a hearing for — whether Arizona's plea practice prices a cyclist's life too cheaply when the driver is impaired and flees.