Driver doing 80 mph when he killed bicyclist, police say

Rico Garcon, 29, of Lauderhill, was arrested Wednesday. He is being held in a jail in Pompano Beach on a charge of vehicular homicide in the death of 51-year-old Kenneth L. Johnson, records show.

The fatal crash happened a little before 11 p.m. on June 19 in the 700 block of Northwest 31st Avenue, south of West Sunrise Boulevard and west of Interstate 95, a police report said.

Johnson was cycling westward as he crossed 31st Avenue when Garcon came along southbound.

Investigators also used a search warrant to obtain a device called an event data recorder from Garcon’s 2001 Oldsmobile which showed he was traveling 80 mph approximately one second before impact, the report said.

“The defendant operated in a reckless manner resulting in the death of the victim,” the police report said.

Had Garcon obeyed the speed limit, according to the report, Johnson would have had nearly seven seconds to get out of his way.

During a court appearance Wednesday morning, Garcon was ordered held on a bond of $150,000 and told that should he bond out of jail he is not allowed to drive unless and until his trial judge allows him to do so.

tealanez@sun-sentinel.com, 954-356-4542 or Twitter @talanez