RALEIGH, N.C. _ Former UNC women's basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell pleaded guilty Tuesday after she fatally struck an 89-year-old pedestrian in a Durham O2 Fitness parking lot in January.
Hatchell pleaded guilty to misdemeanor death by vehicle and was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation. If she violates those terms, she will be ordered to serve a 30-day sentence, Durham County District Attorney's Office spokesperson Sarah Willets said in an email to The News & Observer.
Hatchell has also been ordered to complete 50 hours of community service, pay a $150 fine and $190 in court costs.
Hatchell told police she was making a left turn out of the O2 Fitness parking lot on Jan. 6, when her driver-side mirror struck Betty Sue Colby, a Durham police accident report stated, The N&O reported.
Colby, 89, fell back and hit her head on the pavement at Farrington Road, according to a Durham Police Department news release.
Colby was transported to UNC Hospitals, where police were "unable to speak with her due to her condition," according to the police report, The N&O reported. Colby died two days later.
Hatchell was cited for misdemeanor death by vehicle on Jan. 10.
Hatchell coached the Tar Heels women's program from 1986-2019. She resigned last year after an investigation alleged she made a racially insensitive comment and pressured players to play injured. She denied the latter allegation in an interview with The N&O in July.
Investigators estimated Hatchell was driving 2 miles per hour when she hit Colby and Hatchell looked both ways before making the left turn, Hatchell's attorney, Dan Hatley told The N&O in January. The N&O attempted to reach Hatley Wednesday afternoon, but had not received a response as of 1:15 p.m.
Police determined neither alcohol nor speed was a factor, The N&O reported.
Hatchell is the only women's basketball coach to win national championships at three levels _ AIAW, NAIA and NCAA. She is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, The N&O reported. She won 751 games at UNC, including an NCAA title in 1994. Hatchell missed the 2013-14 season while undergoing treatment for leukemia. She returned the following year.
