Derik Kesler of Rossville was fined and sentenced to jail time Monday in Riley County District Court in
connection with his role in a 2014 fatality accident in which he was using his
cellphone when his vehicle struck KMAN-AM radio reported.
The fatality crash
occurred the evening of June 26, 2014, as Kesler was driving a 2007 Dodge
pickup truck south on K-177 highway, about three miles south of Manhattan.
The truck struck a
bicycle that also was southbound and was traveling on the right shoulder of the
highway, according to Kansas Highway Patrol accident reports.
After the collision,
the bicyclist came to rest in the west ditch of the highway, while the pickup
truck stopped on the southbound shoulder.
The truck’s driver,
Kesler, stopped immediately and called 911, but the bicycle rider, Mark Jilka,
49, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Jilka was known in the
Manhattan area as an avid bicyclist and was wearing reflective clothing at the
time of the crash.
KMAN-AM radio reported
that according to Kesler’s witness statement, he was using the GPS service on
his phone at the time of the collision and didn’t see the bicyclist.and killed
a bicyclist south of Manhattan.
Derik Kesler, 33, who
pleaded no contest to one count of vehicular homicide, was sentenced to one
year in the Riley County Jail in Manhattan, court officials said.
He was granted parole
for one year and will serve 22 weekends in jail, which also could be served as
44 days in succession.
Court officials said
he also was fined the maximum $2,500 and will be able to drive only to and from
work during that period. Restitution was settled out of court,
