Chesco Cyclist's Death Lands Delco Man Behind Bars

WEST CHESTER, PA — A Broomall man was sentenced Friday in Chester County Justice Center to 11½ to 23 months in jail for fleeing the scene of a fatal crash in which a homeless activist was fatally injured while riding a bicycle in Willistown Township.

Michael Larkin, 40, pleaded guilty in December to charges stemming from the fatal injuries of 64-year-old Michael Hackman, an advocate for the homeless who resided in Paoli.

Police said Hackman was struck from behind while riding a bicycle on July 18, 2020, on Providence Road in Willistown Township.

The sentence was based on a plea agreement between First Assistant District Attorney Mike Barry and Larkin’s lawyer Daniel Bush, a West Chester attorney.

Larkin pleaded guilty in December before Judge Analisa Sondergaard to failing to render aid and recklessly endangering another person. He pleaded no contest to a charge of being in an accident involving death or personal injury.

Hackman worked in Chester County's Decades to Doorways program, a program to end homelessness in Chester County.

Larkin was a former communications director for the Marple Newtown School District.

According to court records:

• Larkin initially told police he thought he hit a deer.
• In a later interview with police, Larkin said he hit Hackman while driving home from picking up takeout at a nearby Mexican restaurant, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
• He said he initially thought he had hit a deer until he saw Hackman’s bicycle in his rearview mirror.