Man who killed Michael Colmant sentenced to 20 months in prison for vehicular homicide and hit-and-run

2021 photo of the memorial for Colmant near the site of the fatal collision.

Julian Hamilton, 25, pleaded guilty to hitting and killing Michael Colmant in April 2021 and was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

Hamilton was driving under the influence after drinking in the park when he crossed to the wrong side of Seward Park Ave S just east of the intersection with Wilson Ave S and collided head-on with Colmant, who was biking downhill toward the park. Hamilton then fled the scene and tried to hide the damaged vehicle in Tacoma. He did not turn himself in. He was arrested a year and a half later thanks to a tip that came in after the King County Council offered a $50,000 reward for information in the case. Colmant was a King County employee who worked at Boeing Field.

Q13 News has a report that includes Hamilton's tearful apology in the court room as well as statements from Colmant's loved ones.

I'm sorry for my actions that day and the delay in justice," he said, reading a prepared statement. I'm sorry I didn't come forward sooner. I was afraid of the consequences. But I know this is the right thing to do."

There is no sentence that will give him the justice he deserves, and no sentence handed down will bring him back," said a statement from Colmant's step-daughter read in court.

His sentence was on toward the high end for these crimes, the Seattle Times reported.

Our society has few incentives to stop the people responsible from fleeing the scene. As a result, hit and run collisions are disturbingly common. I don't know of a clear change in policy that would prevent people from fleeing the scene after they hit someone with their car. Our justice system deals in prison terms, so it gives the few people who get caught longer sentences in hopes that this will deter others from fleeing. But this strategy is not working. How many people are out there living with constant anxiety because they know they killed someone and never got caught? Not only is that a miserable way to go through life, but for every one of them there is a community of people who lost a loved one and never received the answers and the closure they deserve.

RIP Mike Colmant. Our condolences to his loved ones.