DUI motorist who killed 76-year-old bicyclist on off-street Sacramento trail sentenced

A judge on Friday sentenced a man to 16 years to life in prison for driving drunk and hitting a 76-year-old bicyclist with his vehicle along the American River Parkway in Sacramento.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner sentenced Armando Moreno-Rodriguez, 27, for the death of Michael Dodson, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.

A jury on March 20 found Moreno-Rodriguez guilty of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, hit-and-run and driving with a suspended license in the vehicle collision that killed the Sacramento bicyclist two years ago.

On June 29, 2021, Moreno-Rodriguez drove through a main gate and onto the parkway’s bicycle and pedestrian trail at 35 mph and continued for about 4 miles before hitting Dodson, a member of the bicycling club Sacramento Wheelmen, prosecutors said.

This segment of the trail is near the 1200 block of Tribute Road, just west of the Capital City Freeway as it passes the Point West neighborhood.

After hitting Dodson with the vehicle that morning, Moreno-Rodriguez continued driving until his vehicle seized up due to damage, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Moreno-Rodriguez’s blood-alcohol level was 0.27, more than three times the legal limit.

Dodson suffered major injuries in the collision and died nearly a month later at a hospital.

Moreno-Rodriguez remained in custody Friday afternoon at the Sacramento County Main Jail, where he awaits transfer to a prison.

Prosecutors said Moreno-Rodriguez had three previous DUI convictions in which he was warned by the court that driving intoxicated was dangerous, and that another DUI-related vehicle collision could lead to a murder charge if someone was killed as a result.