Cherokee, Iowa — The man accused of being involved in a fatal hit-and-run in Cherokee two years ago has been sentenced to five years in prison.
30-year-old Casey Herwig was accused of striking a bicyclist while he was driving a pickup truck on December 26th of 2022 at the North 6th Street and West Willow intersection in Cherokee. Authorities discovered the bicyclist, Phillip Watterson, lying in the roadway. Authorities allegedly discovered damage on the front of the vehicle that matched parts found at the scene.
Herwig reportedly admitted to officers that he knew he hit something, but wasn’t sure what it was. When officers asked Herwig if he might have hit a person, he reportedly said that it “could’ve been.”
Herwig initially pleaded not guilty to Knowingly Leaving The Scene of an Accident Resulting in Death, but changed his plea to guilty last month. In addition to the five years in prison, Herwig was fined over a thousand dollars and was ordered to pay 50 thousand dollars in restitution to Watterson’s family.
(Courtesy fellow Community First Broadcasting station KAYL in Storm Lake)
