Driver who killed cyclist gets prison time, hug from victim’s mom

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A woman has pleaded guilty in the death of a bicyclist in New Hanover County last year.

Judith Nemeth will spend at least 13 months in prison for felony hit-and-run and misdemeanor death by motor vehicle in the death of Zachary Paul Tyler on Wrightsville Avenue on June 13, 2013.

Investigators found Nemeth’s car abandoned on a Wilmington street a day after the crash that killed Tyler.

Tyler’s mother hugged Nemeth in the courtroom today. She says what happened was a tragedy for everyone involved.

“I’m not angry,” Beverly Tyler said. “I miss Zachary terribly. We all do. But anger is not gonna change that.”

Today a prosecutor said they do not believe Nemeth was impaired at the time of the crash, and that if she had stayed at the scene, she likely would have only faced a misdemeanor.