Driver sentenced to 60 days in jail, probation for 2016 crash that killed Healdsburg cyclist

A Healdsburg man convicted of causing the 2016 crash that killed a Sebastopol woman participating in a charity bike ride was sentenced to 36 months of supervised probation and 60 days in county jail Wednesday.

The sentence, handed down by Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Barbara Phelan, came about a month after a jury found 75-year-old Courtney Rudin guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. Rudin was found to have acted negligently and caused the death of cyclist Amy Suyama, 55, of Sebastopol, who was participating in the annual Tour de Fuzz charity ride Sept. 10, 2016.

That morning, Rudin had attempted to pass a slow-moving grape truck by going southbound in a northbound lane on Eastside Road near Windsor, despite seeing Suyama and her boyfriend Andrew Dean approaching. Rudin was unable to pass the grape truck before encountering the two cyclists, causing both cyclists to fall to the ground as he passed. Dean was injured but survived.

Suyama died on the ambulance ride to the hospital because of the blunt force trauma she suffered.

“This case has always been about holding Mr. Rudin responsible for his negligent actions that resulted in the tragic death of Amy Suyama,” said Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch in a news release. “Hopefully, this sentence will provide insight both to the defendant and the public at large that all of us who share our roads have a duty to keep the lives and safety of our fellow community members paramount, regardless of our chosen mode of transportation.”

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misstated that Courtney Rudin, 75, acted negligently and caused the death of two cyclists. A jury decided Rudin caused the death of cyclist, Amy Suyama, the only cyclist killed.

You can reach Staff Writer Chantelle Lee at 707-521-5337 or chantelle.lee@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ChantelleHLee.