Homicide

Unlicensed, intoxicated driver who killed 2 cyclists during bike ride gets 15 to 40 years

Associated Press
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FILE - Darriean Hess, of Seabrook, N.H., is seen in this booking file photo provided by the Hampton, N.H., Police Department. Hess is scheduled to plead guilty Monday, Jan. 26, 2015, to two counts each of manslaughter and second-degree assault in a Sept. 2013 car crash in which she plowing into a group of bicyclists, killing two Massachusetts women riding in the Granite State Wheelmen Tri-State Seacoast Century ride. Hess under the influence of drugs when she ran into the cyclists in Hampton and also is charged with negligent homicide. (AP Photo/Hampton Police Department) (The Associated Press)

Darriean Hess looks back Monday Jan. 26, 2015 in Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood, N.H. as she is led from court after pleading guilty and being sentenced to sentenced to 15 to 40 years in prison for plowing into a group of bicyclists, killing two Massachusetts women in Sept. 2013. (AP Photo/Portsmouth Herald, Rich Beauchesne, Pool) (The Associated Press)

Darriean Hess listens to impact statements Monday Jan. 26, 2015 in Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwqood, N.H. after pleading guilty to plowing into a group of bicyclists, killing two Massachusetts women in Sept. 2013. Hess, 22, was sentenced to 15 to 40 years in prison. (AP Photo/Portsmouth Herald, Rich Beauchesne, Pool) (The Associated Press)

An unlicensed, intoxicated New Hampshire driver charged with killing two Massachusetts cyclists has been sentenced to 15 to 40 years in prison.

Twenty-year-old Darriean Hess of Seabrook pleaded Monday to two counts of manslaughter and second-degree assault. She answered brief questions from the judge, and mostly looked down at a table as relatives made emotional statements about their loved ones. Some said they hoped for a longer sentence while others implored her to learn from her mistakes.

Police say Hess was ticketed for speeding eight hours before the 2013 crash that killed 60-year-old Pamela Wells and 52-year-old Elise Bouchard. They say Hess was under the influence of drugs when she ran into the cyclists in Hampton just after the start of the Granite State Wheelmen Tri-State Seacoast Century ride.