GUILTY PA - Brandon Ortmann, 24, cyclist, killed in hit & run, North Fayette, 18 Sep 2015

Five people testified during the opening day of the trial for Zachary Chicko, 32. Investigators said the passenger-side mirror of his vehicle struck bicyclist Brandon Ortmann, 24, in the face, throwing him off his bike just before 8 p.m. Sept. 18, 2015. He died of head injuries, the Allegheny County Coroner’s office determined.

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A New Kensington man will remain on house arrest until sentencing after an Allegheny County judge found him guilty Tuesday of hitting and killing a bicyclist in North Fayette in 2015.

Common Pleas Judge Thomas Flaherty found Zachary Chicko, 31, guilty of accidents involving death or personal injury and several vehicle violations. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

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On Thursday, Zachary Chicko, 32, who was found guilty in a non-jury trial in July, was ordered to serve three to six years in state prison.

He will be eligible for parole after 27 months.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Thomas E. Flaherty determined that a three-year mandatory minimum penalty for leaving the scene of a fatal accident applied in the case, over the objection of defense attorney Lee Rothman.

"If Mr. Chicko would have stopped, we would not be here today. It would have been deemed an accident," the judge said.

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Jamila Olowinski, Mr. Ortmann's sister, told Judge Flaherty that she held her mom's hand in the delivery room when her brother took his first breath, and she held her mom's hand in the hospital when he took his last.

She described her brother, 11 years her junior, as having brilliant eyes and great hair, and a great relationship with her that stayed close even after she grew up and moved away.

Ms. Olowinski doesn’t want Mr. Ortmann to be known as "the victim," "the decedent," or "the bicyclist," but as her little brother.

"Zach's life should forever be changed," she said. "He should not get to leave this courtroom a free man."

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