A Penacook woman was found guilty of fatally striking a bicyclist with her vehicle nearly five years ago after a week long trial where jurors deliberated for less than three hours. 

Jessica Warren, 46, was found guilty late Friday on a felony charge of causing death while driving with a suspended license, 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. 

The guilty verdict holds a maximum penalty of seven years. Warren will be sentenced at a later date.

Warren initially faced charges of vehicular assault and driving with a suspended license, both misdemeanors, and two violations of going over a solid line and following a vehicle too closely in connection with the fatal crash, according to court documents. Her charges were increased a year later to a felony offense for operation after suspension resulting in death. 

Prosecutors argued that if Warren had obeyed the law and not operated her vehicle with a suspended license, Bettens would be alive.

At the time of the crash, Warren was traveling north on North State Street between Roger Avenue and Sewalls Falls Road while Bettens was operating his bicycle in front of her on the right side of the road when he went into the street to avoid a UPS truck that was parked in the bike lane. As he did so, Warren then hit the bicycle’s rear tire, ran him over and dragged him more than 500-feet while failing to immediately stop. Her vehicle drove onto the curb, struck a sign, crossed the yellow line and collided with another vehicle, the prosecution said. 

During the trial, defense attorney Vanessa Gelinas argued that the UPS truck was illegally parked in the bike lane causing Bettens to move around the truck and enter the north bound travel lane on North State Street directly in front of Warren’s vehicle, causing the crash. 

According to state law, vehicle operators are required to give bicyclists at least three-feet of space when passing but witnesses testified Warren was driving within striking distance of the UPS truck itself and did not attempt to drive around Bettens. He 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, run and swim and was training for a triathlon. He was a father of two and a veteran of the U.S. Army. 

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