Judge gives 12 years in Decatur hit-and-run

DECATUR — A judge in Decatur has handed down a 12-year prison sentence for a 33-year-old man who pleaded guilty in the hit-and-run death of a bicyclist.

The (Decatur) Herald & Review reports that Michael Wharton was riding his bike in July when Chad Johnson struck him with his car. Authorities say Johnson was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana. He didn’t stop at the accident scene and didn’t report it to authorities.

Associate Judge Timothy Steadman sentenced Johnson on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty in a plea deal to aggravated driving under the influence of cannabis and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in a death.