Rohan Dennis, a former world champion cyclist and Olympian, has decided to postpone entering a plea in the case involving the death of his wife, Melissa Hoskins, so that he and the prosecution can continue their negotiations.
On December 30, in front of their Medindie home in Adelaide’s inner-north, Hoskins, 32, was hit by Dennis’s vehicle.
Dennis, 34, was subsequently arrested.
Despite being sent to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in a hurry, the mother-of-two passed away that evening.
Today, Dennis, who is now out on bond, made a brief appearance before the Adelaide Magistrates Court.
In order to continue negotiations with the prosecutors, his attorney asked for a six-week delay.
Dennis was ordered to make his next appearance on December 10 by Magistrate Justin Wickens, who granted the request.
When Dennis walked out of court, he remained silent.
Prosecutors decided to press allegations of death by risky driving and driving without due care during a charge determination hearing in August.
A maximum of fifteen years in prison and a minimum of ten years of license disqualification await him if the first offense is proven guilty.
There is a six-month disqualification period and a twelve-month jail sentence for the second charge.
Hoskins was a member of the track and field team that won the global championship in 2015 and competed in the Olympic Games in 2012 and 2016.
Dennis has great success during his competitive career, winning two world titles in the road time trial.
He also represented his country at the Olympic Games in 2012, taking silver in the team pursuit and bronze in the road time trial.
After breaking a new record for average speed in the 2015 Tour de France opening time trial, he won the race and became the seventh Australian to wear the yellow shirt as race leader.
Additionally, he triumphed at South Australia’s 2015 Tour Down Under. In February, a public memorial service was held in Adelaide, and Hoskins was laid to rest in her hometown of Perth.
Their two children were accompanied by Dennis to the service.
The Adelaide Magistrates Court heard from prosecutors in March who said it would take six months to finish reconstructing a serious crash and four weeks to send the case to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
