A man was sentenced Friday to eight-and-a-half years in prison in the death of a cyclist who was an outspoken advocate for bike safety.
David Salovesh was following the flow of traffic on Florida Avenue NE April 19 when Robert Earl Little Jr. sped through a red light in a stolen van and struck Salovesh near Benning Road, police said.
Salovesh died at the scene. He was 54.
Little was arrested and charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, according to court records.
A white-painted ghost bike was placed near the crash scene in Salovesh's memory. In May, a speeding Chevy Tahoe crashed into the ghost bike.
News4 spoke to Salovesh in 2016 about biking in Washington, saying that a better understanding is needed between cyclists and drivers.
"It has become a thing where people have each other in their sights and it's cars versus bikes and bikes versus cars. It's all people trying to get to and from work, to and from places they go," Salovesh said.
