A Council Bluffs woman was placed on two years of supervised probation for leaving the scene of a fatal hit-and-run.
On Monday afternoon at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse, Fourth Judicial Court Judge Mark Eveloff sentenced Stephanie Kenealy, 29, to two years of probation and also granted a deferred judgment for Kenealy. She pleaded guilty to one count of leaving the scene of a fatality accident, a Class D felony, on June 30.
Eveloff told Kenealy that if she “stays out of trouble,” during her two-year probation period, the felony charge would be expunged from her record.
Eveloff, along with prosecutor Christine Shockey, said Kenealy’s work as a paraeducator in the Council Bluffs Community School District and her volunteer work with children played a role in the court’s granting of a deferred judgment.
The charge stems from an accident on Sept. 8, 2015, in the area of South 35th Street and 14th Avenue. David Ryder, 54, died after a 2002 Ford Explorer, driven by Kenealy, hit him from behind while he was riding his bicycle.
Both vehicles were heading northbound on South 35th Street during a rainstorm, and the crash occurred about a half a block north of 14th Avenue. According to Council Bluffs police, Kenealy left the scene of the accident before returning 45 to 55 minutes later.
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