Lead out of the courthouse in handcuffs on Tuesday afternoon, Jessica Warren said goodbye to her friends and family who sat tearfully behind her. 

Warren, 46, of Penacook, was sentenced to a maximum prison sentence of 3 ½ to 7 years after a jury found her guilty of causing death while driving with a suspended license nearly five years ago when she struck and killed Army veteran and New Hampshire State Prison Sergeant Patrick Bettens, then 41, while he was riding his bicycle in Concord in September 2018. 

Witness testimony that Warren failed to stop after running down Bettens from behind, led Judge Mark Attorri to sentence Warren to the maximum requested by the state and deny the defense attorney’s request to allow Warren to remain on bail pending appeal. 

“There is an image that has stuck in my mind since the guilty verdict was returned,” Attorri said. “Mr. Noonan who was in the vehicle behind Ms. Warren described the car bouncing up and down like it was going over speed bumps. I have a difficult time understanding how anyone could be in that situation and, no matter how accidental, not stop immediately.”

The defense had tried to persuade Attorri to take compassion on Warren, her difficult upbringing and life circumstances as a single mother of four. 

During the trial, prosecutors said that Warren not only hit Bettens, but dragged him more than 500-feet down the street without stopping as she tried to flee the scene, prosecutor Melinda Siranian said. It wasn’t until she drove up over the curb, struck a street sign, crossed the yellow line and struck a box truck head-on that she came to a stop. Witnesses testified that Warren denied striking Bettens, blamed a vehicle in front of her and attempted to flee the scene. 

“At the time of the incident, Warren’s license was suspended, she did not have a license, she saw him and communicated with him and did not stop immediately, even after his bike and his body came out from under her van,” Siranian said during sentencing Tuesday. “She has a criminal record, nothing significant, but mostly driving related.”

Over the last 10 years, Warren has faced several misdemeanors for operating with a suspended license, disobeying a police officer, speeding and operating as a habitual offender, Siranian said. 

In a statement read by a victim advocate, Bettens mother, Patricia Bettens, asked the state to consider imposing the maximum sentence and give the family closure for his death. As a man who grew up without a father, it was incredibly important to him to be in his children’s lives, above anything else, she said. 

Embedded on his tombstone is the number 1,018, the highest number his boys could think of to tell them how much they loved him. 

Warren told the court she will work on herself.

“I wasn’t out gallivanting, I knowingly got into a vehicle to seek help,” Warren said. “You lost something I hope to never lose in this lifetime. Bottom line, if I go to prison today, I plan to come out a better person than I am in front of all of you today. I’m not asking for less time but please forgive me for driving. I take the responsibility and I hope I can make changes while in prison.”

Bettens died at the scene as a result of serious injuries sustained during the crash. At the time of his death, he was an employee of the New Hampshire Department of Corrections working in the Men’s State Prison in Concord. He was an athlete who loved to bike and compete in triathlons, a father of two and a veteran of the U.S. Army.

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