SANTA ANA, Calif. – A driver was convicted and sentenced today for vehicular manslaughter in a hit-and-run crash that killed a bicyclist in Laguna Beach. Dylan Thomas Rand-Luby, 21, Laguna Beach, pleaded guilty to a court offer today to one felony count of hit-and-run with injury and one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. He was sentenced today to one year in jail and three years of formal probation.
On June 17, 2014, Rand-Luby drove a 2005 Toyota Prius northbound on North Coast Highway in the Emerald Bay area. He swerved out of his lane, onto the bike lane, and struck 55-year-old cyclist John Colvin.
Rand-Luby failed to stop his vehicle to render aid to the victim and continued to drive northbound on Coast Highway.
Two good Samaritans contacted 911 and followed the defendant's vehicle until he pulled over in a school parking lot approximately one mile away. The victim died at the scene from blunt force trauma. The defendant shattered the front windshield of his car as a result of the impact from the collision with the victim.
The Laguna Beach Police Department investigated this case.
The victim's family members delivered an impact statement to the court pursuant Marsy's Law during a previous hearing. Colvin's wife said in part, “The loss is so deep and massive it truly is impossible to explain. John represented everything that is good in life; to his very core he was kind, loving, gentle, strong, forgiving and empathetic.”
The victim's sister said in part, “As my family moves forward we will all, always miss John. He was ripped from life needlessly and much too young. There were so many things he was looking forward to in life.”
Colvin's mother and father submitted an impact statement letter to the court which said in part, “The trauma of our loss is indescribable. Not a day goes by that we don't think about our wonderful son. They say time heals this wound of loss, we have not felt any healing in the last 15 months. We choose to put one foot in front of the other and keep living.”
The victim's niece said in part, “I will never have my uncle in my life again. I feel like life without my uncle is a punishment that will never end.”
Colvin's nephew said in part, “I cannot tell him how he inspired me to be a great father to my boys. My boys will not have the opportunity to experience my uncle and his joy, but only through stories from his family and friends.” He went on to say, “The tragic loss of my uncle has left a very large void in my life which I feel will never be filled again. Even in his passing, the stories I hear still inspire and show that I was not alone in my feelings about him and how precious he was to so many lives.”
Colvin's brother-in-law said in part, “A void unmeasurable remains, from that moment in time where a distraction ripped a hole that left us without a son, brother, husband, dad, uncle friend, mentor, teammate, and the list would have gone on, and on, had it not been for that day, the day a young man took the life of our John and did not stop.”
Deputy District Attorney Stephen Cornwell prosecuted this case.
Orange County District Attorney / Case # 15HF0130 / August 22, 2016
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