Australian cyclist Rohan Dennis receives suspended sentence over death of Olympian wife Melissa Hoskins
Former world champion cyclist Rohan Dennis has received a two-year suspended sentence over a car incident which killed his wife, fellow Olympian Melissa Hoskins.
Hoskins, also a former world champion, died aged 32 after being hit by a car on December 30, 2023, outside the couple's home in Adelaide, Australia.
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Dennis, 34, was sentenced on Wednesday to one year, four months and 28 days in jail, to be suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to one aggravated count of creating the likelihood of harm, per the Australian Associated Press.
Judge Ian Press at the South Australia District Court said Dennis had disregarded the safety of Hoskins, but was not criminally responsible for her death.
The sentence for Dennis was reduced from two years and two months due to his guilty plea, while his driver's license has been suspended for five years and he has been placed on a two-year good behaviour bond — meaning he will not serve time in prison.
The court had previously heard how Hoskins had held on to the car as her husband attempted to drive off. Judge Press as cited by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), said that while it was 'impossible to be precise' about the speed and distance, it was estimated that Dennis continued to drive for about 75 metres at a speed of around 20 kilometres per hour with Hoskins on the bonnet.
'To describe the consequences of the events on 30 December 2023 as tragic really does not do justice to the grief, the anguish and the turmoil those events have brought into the lives of those who knew and loved your wife,' Judge Press told Dennis during the sentencing, via ABC.
The judge added that he understood that Dennis had tried to 'de-escalate the argument' by driving off, but said it did not excuse his actions.
'It was your obligation to stop the vehicle when driving that vehicle became dangerous to her physical well-being. That you did not stop because you wanted to leave, is a very poor reason for not doing so.'
Dennis had previously been charged with causing death by dangerous driving and an aggravated charge of driving without care. In December 2024, it was confirmed that the court would not proceed with these charges.
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Per ABC, Peter Hoskins, Melissa's father, said Dennis was yet to apologise to the Hoskins family: 'I'm sure that will come with time, I think it's difficult for everybody.'
He said jailing Dennis 'wasn't something that we were pursuing' and would have a negative impact on the couple's children.
'It's now time for us to move on, which would be Melissa's expectations of us,' he said, adding that it was important his family had a 'well-mannered relationship' with Dennis going forward.
'There are two young children caught up in this tragedy,' Peter Hoskins added. 'Clearly, we want to continue to be an integral part of (the) children's lives and their future.'
Hoskins, who represented Australia in the Olympics of 2012 and 2016, was part of the Australia gold-medal winning team pursuit squad who broke the world record at the 2015 World Championships. The track and road racing cyclist also won three world silvers and a bronze in the team pursuit and scratch race at the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Championships.
The Perth native, who retired from cycling in 2017, won two road cycling world silver medals and a bronze in the team time trial between 2012 and 2014.
Dennis, meanwhile, featured in three successive Olympic Games between 2012 and 2020, winning silver in London 2012 and bronze in Tokyo eight years later. He won stages in each of cycling's three Grand Tours before announcing his retirement in February 2023.
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