Olympic cyclist Rohan Dennis sentenced in Adelaide over the car accident that killed his wife Melissa Hoskins
One of Australia’s top sportsmen, Rohan Dennis, has been sentenced in court after his wife and fellow Olympian Melissa Hoskins died when she was hit by his car.
Police & Courts
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An Olympic cyclist will not serve jail time after his wife died when she was hit by his car in an “inherently risky and dangerous act”.
Rohan Craig Dennis, 44, was handed a suspended sentence in the District Court on Wednesday so he can continue caring for the couple’s children after the tragic incident that killed Melissa Hoskins outside their family home.
Judge Ian Press today sentenced Dennis to more than a year in a jail, with a non-parole period of 10 months – but said he was suspending the sentence because Dennis was now the sole carer of the couple’s two young children.
Dennis pleaded guilty to aggravated creating likelihood of harm – a charge that did not allege he caused Ms Hoskins’ death.
Ms Hoskins – who was also an Olympic cyclist – died on December 30, 2023, after being struck by the Volkswagen Amarok Highline V6 ute Dennis was driving on Avenel Gardens Rd, Medindie.
In his police interview in the early hours of December 31, 2023, Dennis told the officers he and Ms Hoskins were having an argument about renovations and “tensions boiled over”.
“As I was getting in my car, my wife Mel ran out and as I was moving she jumped in front and on to the bonnet,” he said.
“Then we got to the end of Medindie Lane and I stopped and noticed Mel was looking to jump off basically … and she jumped off.”
Dennis then said he “put his foot down” to make sure Ms Hoskins couldn’t attempt to get into the car. He said Ms Hoskins was attempting to grab the door handle while running alongside the car and it got a “bit out of control”.
“From memory I let go of the accelerator but I heard a thump and I saw in my mirror that she was on the ground,” he said.
Dennis said he rolled Ms Hoskins on to her side because she seemed to be gurgling and choking on something which he thought might have been blood.
He said when the ambulance arrived Ms Hoskins was still breathing and awake. However, the Perth-born 32-year-old later died in the Royal Adelaide Hospital from catastrophic injuries.
In their victim impact statements last month, Ms Hoskins’ sister Jessica Locke told the court Dennis had shown no remorse for the offending, while her mother Amanda Hoskins said Dennis’s temper had been his downfall.
Ms Hoskins’ father Peter Hoskins told the court his daughter loved her life as an elite athlete and had always chased her dreams.
“Melissa did not deserve to die and she certainly did not deserve the death that she suffered,” he said.
“Can I forgive you for the abandonment of your responsibilities as a husband and father on December 30? I doubt I can do that … given what you have taken from me and my family.”
Tali Costi, prosecuting, told the court last month that Dennis’s offending related to the conduct where he initially accelerated in circumstances in which he knew Ms Hoskins was very close to the car.
The court heard Dennis estimated he was travelling at about 20km/h, with CCTV footage showing Ms Hoskins was on the bonnet for approximately six seconds.
It is not alleged Dennis – a dual world champion who retired from his 16-year cycling career in 2023 – caused her death.
He pleaded guilty to aggravated creating likelihood of harm and charges of causing death by dangerous driving and aggravated driving without due care were dropped as a result.
Judge Press sentenced Dennis to one year, four months and 28 days jail and set a non-parole period of 10 months. However, that sentence was suspended on a $100 two-year good behaviour bond.
Dennis was also disqualified from driving for five years, backdated to the date of the offence.
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