Probation for Wichita driver who fatally struck bicyle rider near downtown
A judge on Thursday sentenced a Wichita man to three years of probation in connection with a hit-and-run crash near downtown that killed a bicyclist last year, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
The sentence 22-year-old Blaine Lee Hughes received carries an underlying prison term of 43 months, which he could be ordered to serve if he fails to follow the terms of his probation. The sentence also follows recommendations from lawyers who negotiated Hughes’ plea agreement.
He pleaded guilty on May 20 to one count of leaving the scene of an accident in the Sept. 17, 2025, death of 57-year-old Daniel Scott Forshey of Wichita.
Attorneys recommended a probation sentence for Hughes instead of prison due to his “unique chronic mental health difficulties,” because he agreed to participate in “comprehensive and intensive mental health services, including medication management,” and because community-based programs are “likely to be more effective” in reducing his risk of reoffending, the plea agreement says.
Wichita police have said Hughes was driving a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck when he struck Forshey around 9 p.m. at Murdock and Broadway as Forshey was crossing the street on a bicycle. A probable cause affidavit says Hughes pulled into a gas station parking lot and got out to check on Forshey as he lay in the street. But then he got back into the truck and drove off.
Police used their Flock camera system to track Hughes to the east-side McDonald’s where he was working an overnight shift, the affidavit says.
Hughes told police he was headed to work when the collision happened and that he knew he hit a person. But, he told police, he left because he had to get to work “because he could not afford to lose his job” and planned to turn himself in after his shift ended, the affidavit says.
He also told police everything was “a blur” after the crash and that he didn’t think to call 911 after arriving at work, according to the affidavit.
In previous interviews with The Eagle, loved ones of Forshey described him as a funny and selfless father and grandfather who loved working on and riding bicycles. Homeless following job struggles, he had reconnected with a church where he had attended and prayed at evening services about 30 minutes before he was killed, his loved ones have said.
