A US woman has been sentenced to at least 70 years in prison for causing the deaths of two bicyclists who were hit while taking part in a charity ride.
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The judge in Ionia County, Michigan, stacked two 35-year terms for Mandy Benn.
The consecutive punishment is rare in Michigan, where most sentences run concurrently.
Police said Benn was under the influence of drugs when she crossed the centre line and hit a group of bicyclists on a rural road in 2022.
Edward Erickson, 48, of Ann Arbor, and Michael Salhaney, 57, of Bloomfield Hills, were killed while riding in a three-day endurance event for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
"This is not an accident. ... There was a series of choices you made at some point to ingest this cocktail of narcotics and that led to everything we saw," Judge Ronald Schafer said on Tuesday.
In October, Benn, 44, was convicted of second-degree murder and a raft of other charges.
She apologised in court and read out the names of the dead and injured bicyclists.
"I know you haven't seen much of it but I am very much so sorry," Benn said.
"I never in my life had any intent of hurting anyone. One moment - that moment - changed the outcome of a lot of futures."
Australian Associated Press
