Man, 22, pleads guilty to manslaughter, DUI in cyclist’s death
Beau Morgans, then 21 years old, fatally struck 75-year-old Allen Hunter II in June 2021 in Solana Beach
A drunken driver who fatally struck a 75-year-old bicyclist last year in Solana Beach, then fled the scene, pleaded guilty Tuesday to several charges, including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Lucas Beau Morgans, 22, faces up to 15 years in state prison when he is sentenced later this year for the June 22, 2021, death of Allen Hunter II.
In addition to manslaughter, Morgans also pleaded guilty to hit-and-run causing death and DUI counts.
Morgans struck Hunter from behind around 10:30 a.m. while Hunter, a retired physicist, was cycling on South Coast Highway 101 near Lomas Santa Fe Drive, according to authorities. Paramedics took him to a hospital, where he died that evening.
Allen Hunter II and Swati Tyagi both came to San Diego to work in science; Hunter was killed June 22, and Tyagi was killed the next day
After fleeing the scene, Morgans went to his family’s home and told them what happened, according to his defense attorney, Michael Harkness. The attorney told the Union-Tribune last year that Morgans fled “out of sheer panic and without malice” and surrendered to sheriff’s investigators within 45 minutes.
Prosecutors said that about 90 minutes after the crash, Morgans’ blood-alcohol content was 0.169 percent — more than twice the legal limit at which drivers in California are considered impaired.
Morgans is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 27.
Staff reporter Alex Riggins contributed to this report.
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