‘Would trade my life for hers’: Driver says he fell asleep before deadly hit-and-run crash

PHOENIX (AZFamily/Gray News) — A driver accused of hitting a bicyclist and fleeing the scene of the deadly crash claimed he fell asleep behind the wheel late Sunday morning in Phoenix.

Authorities said 46-year-old Eric Hodge was taken into custody for the hit-and-run death of Hannah Henry.

Just before 11:30 a.m., officers received reports of a bicyclist who had been struck by a car in the area of Central Avenue and Elwood Street.

Officers found Henry, 26, seriously hurt, and firefighters pronounced her dead.

According to Phoenix police, Henry was using the designated bike lane when Hodge veered to the right, rearending Henry. Court documents state he ran over Henry and her bike, drove up on the sidewalk and a dirt area before going back on the street.

Investigators said Hodge then fled the scene after the collision.

According to court documents, Henry was dragged underneath Hodge’s vehicle and pieces of her clothes were stuck under his van.

Video collected from the scene captured the make and model of Hodge’s vehicle. Phoenix detectives tracked down Hodge’s vehicle to his home near Central Avenue and Buckeye Road.

Court documents state that the damage on Hodge’s van matched the evidence at the scene.

As authorities spoke with him, Hodge reportedly admitted to driving the vehicle, but didn’t remember being involved in a crash.

According to investigators, Hodge allegedly said he “passes out randomly and wakes up in different places” when he smokes fentanyl.

Hodge reportedly recalled passing a “girl on a 10-speed bicycle.” Court documents state he believed he corrected his driving after he woke up and thought he hit a fire hydrant. After the collision, he reportedly met up with someone to buy more drugs.

Investigators later found two blue straws with burnt ends in his pocket, which are commonly used to smoke fentanyl, court documents describe.

During an initial court appearance Monday morning, prosecutor Stephen Garcia described what led up to the collision as Hodge covered his face.

“The defendant is a danger to the community. In the middle of a Sunday afternoon, he’s driving southbound on Central, rearends the victim, whose riding her 10-speed bicycle. Sadly, she succumbed to her fatal injuries at the scene,” Garcia described.

“He admitted that he was driving. He recalled that he went up onto the curb and that when he corrected, he thought he had hit a fire hydrant,” Garcia added.

Hodge interrupted as Garcia was speaking multiple times, prompting the judge to ask him to wait until Garcia was finished.

“She was leading a fulfilling life that got taken from her on this particular Sunday afternoon. He continued to drive on and reportedly purchased $100 worth of fentanyl,” Garcia said.

Hodge opted to give a brief statement during his initial appearance, describing that he fell asleep leading up to the collision.

“I didn’t know that I hit anybody. I fell asleep and when I woke up, I was off the road a little bit and I had no idea that I had hit anybody. I really didn’t,” Hodge said. “I’m not a violent person. I don’t want to hurt anybody. I try to work every day and I try to help people in any way I can.”

Hodge called the incident a tragic accident, expressing remorse for his actions.

“I’m so heartbroken. I would trade my life for hers in a second if I could. That’s all I can say, but I was asleep. I didn’t see that I hit anybody. I would have stopped, I really would,” he added.

The state requested a $750,000 cash-only bond, which was granted by the judge.

Hodge was booked on charges of reckless manslaughter, leaving the scene of a deadly crash, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of narcotic drugs.