Prison time for driver in wreck that left bicyclist paralyzed

Richard Crook knows prison can change a person's life - it helped him turn his around.

Today, he wished the same conversion for Gerald Charles Selke II - the man who put him in a coma for more than a month and left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Selke, 24, pleaded guilty in June to driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident in the October crash that injured Crook.

Selke was sentenced today to just more than five years in prison.

Crook, who had a leg amputated after the crash, couldn't attend the sentencing because of medical reasons. Instead, he participated via speaker phone.

"Where you are going is where I have been," Crook, 51, told Selke. "Just let the good Lord lead you in the right direction.

"You're getting away with a pretty good deal and be thankful for it," he said. "I wish all the best for you."

Crook was pedaling his bicycle south on the shoulder of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard near Tampa Palms Boulevard about 6 a.m. Oct. 26 when a 2003 Mercury Sable driven by Selke struck him from behind.

Crook was thrown from the bike and hit the Sable's windshield.

He had been on his way to do court-ordered community service.

Selke admitted to being under the influence of the drug Xanax, usually prescribed for anxiety and panic disorders. It was his second DUI within five years. He also was sentenced today to about five years on the earlier DUI case; the prison terms will run at the same time.

Crook told Hillsborough Circuit Judge Robert A. Foster he approved the plea deal at a June 18 hearing.

Foster also ordered Selke to make restitution to pay for Crook's medical bills. Crook's attorney, David D. Dickey, estimated the bill at Tampa General Hospital is about $790,000.

Crook and his wife, Yvonne, sued Selke on Monday for damages in excess of $15,000.

Crook said he still faces an uphill medical fight.

"I hope all this will be on your chest to think about," he told Selke.

Foster ordered Selke to write Crook a letter of apology.

Dickey said Crook had only one piece of advice for Selke.

"Take responsibility is the message," he said.