Hilton Head woman sentenced to 10 years for hit-and-run death of Bluffton bicyclist

A Hilton Head Island woman will serve 10 years in prison after she pleaded guilty last week in the November 2016 hit-and-run death of a Bluffton bicyclist.

Shannan Dapiran, 37, pleaded guilty Thursday to reckless homicide in Beaufort County Court, according to court records.

She was initially charged with leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in the death of Kevin Thomson, 60, who died Nov. 21, 2016. He was found in a ditch around 8:45 a.m on the westbound side of U.S. 278 in the area of Burnt Church Road.

Thomson was taken to a hospital and later flown to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah, where he died around 7:30 p.m. that day, according to the Beaufort Coroner’s Office.

Dapiran fled the scene, a move that launched an investigation by the S.C. Highway Patrol, who asked residents to be on the lookout for a 2005 or 2006 black Acura TL with possible damage to the right front bumper and headlight area on the passenger side along with a missing passenger-side mirror.

Dapiran was not charged until Dec. 16, 2016.

This story was originally published September 26, 2017 at 8:38 PM with the headline "Hilton Head woman sentenced to 10 years for hit-and-run death of Bluffton bicyclist."