Driver gets 3 years in prison in cyclist’s death

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Robert Terry

HANCOCK COUNTY — The last words her husband of 56 years said to Jackie Wellenreiter as he headed out the door for a morning bicycle ride last August were, “I’ll be right back.”

But he never came home.

Rodger Wellenreiter, 76, of Greenfield, was killed Aug. 28, 2019, after being struck from behind by an impaired driver as Wellenreiter rode his bike near the entrance to Heartland Resort, 1613 West County Road 300N.

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Wellenreiter, who lived on County Road 25W, was a few miles from home when he was hit and killed by Robert Allen Terry.

Terry, 41, Cicero, was sentenced on Monday, May 18, to several years in prison. Part of a plea agreement called for Terry to admit guilt to a Level 4 felony count of causing death when operating a motor vehicle with a Schedule I or II substance.

Terry was given a nine-year prison term, with three years of the sentence to be spent in prison; three years in community corrections; and the final three years spent on probation.

Deputy prosecutor Kevin Kelly also asked that Terry be ordered to undergo substance abuse evaluation and treatment while he’s in prison.

The sentence was handed down by court commissioner Cody Coombs in Hancock County Superior Court 1.

During the sentencing hearing, the victim’s family had an opportunity to address Terry and the court. Wellenreiter’s wife said she and her husband had been inseparable from the time they met when they were teenagers some 60 years ago. They had never spent any time apart, she said.

“We were always side-by-side,” she said, fighting back tears. “It’s a devastating thing. I have to do everything by myself now.”

The couple’s daughter, Janeen Gill, also spoke before the sentence was handed down. She told the court how difficult it was hearing people refer to her father as a victim.

“He was the hardest-working person I’ve ever seen,” she said. “He was full of life, energy and goodness.”

She did thank Terry for calling 911 and for staying with her father, noting that action gave her comfort knowing her father didn’t die alone. She also held up a photo of her father and her son, who has been devastated by the loss of his grandfather.

The family told the court, the young man cries every day longing to see his grandfather.

The woman gave the photo to Terry as she walked past him in the courtroom and asked him to look at it every day in an effort to get him to try and turn his life around and do something positive.

“I don’t know what you think about your life, but you’ve had a very negative impact on my life and everyone I love,” Wellenreiter’s daughter said.

Before handing down the sentence, Coombs reminded Terry he was still a relatively young man and could use the remainder of his life to make a positive difference in the community.

Terry spoke only briefly when Coombs asked him if he would like to address the court and the family. Terry turned to the Wellenreiter family and said, “I’m sorry, and I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Coombs told Terry he was disappointed in him after the commissioner had read the pre-sentence investigation report, in which Terry said he was sorry but did not take full responsibility for driving impaired.

“It’s not that you just struck this man going 50 miles per hour, you struck this man while going 50 miles an hour while you were high on methamphetamine,” Coombs said. “The harm you’ve done is tremendous.”

After the sentencing, Kelly noted Terry will have to do his time and hopefully prove he is able to change his life after causing so much grief.

“If he doesn’t, he’ll go back to prison,” Kelly said. “It’s the only justice the family can have — to know the person who did this is being held responsible.”