Judge Laments NYC Bike Hazard in Actor's Death

On Wednesday, the court sentenced the electric scooter rider who struck “Gone Girl” actor Lisa Banes to one to three years in prison for his manslaughter conviction while lamenting New York City’s issues with electric and gas-powered bikes.

After being sentenced in Manhattan state court by Judge Gregory Carro for the death of Banes, Brian Boyd, 27, was brought away in handcuffs.

In June 2021, she crossed a street in midtown Manhattan when Boyd’s scooter struck her.

She passed away in a hospital ten days later.

According to Carro, Boyd allegedly blew a red light, struck Banes, then raced off to a bike shop to get a beer.

The judge stated that the city “had a problem” with motorized bikes and that owners of such vehicles should be aware that they risk going to jail if they cause harm.

Boyd expressed his regret before Carro announced the sentence, which calls for a year in jail.

The punishment adhered to the terms of the contract Boyd signed before confessing to manslaughter in September.

Banes, 65, was. She has made numerous stage performances, television programs, and motion picture appearances, including “Cocktail” in 1988 and “Gone Girl” in 2014.

She appeared in “Nashville,” “Madam Secretary,” “Masters of Sex,” and “NCIS” on television.

She performed on Broadway in the musical “High Society” in 1998, the play “Present Laughter” in 2010, and the Neil Simon comedy “Rumors” in 1988.

Kathryn Kranhold, her wife and a former writer for the Center for Public Integrity and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, pleaded with the judge to sentence Boyd to a “quite large amount of incarceration” because he was about to receive an “excellent plea deal.”

She recalled her worry when she spoke at a podium when Banes didn’t show up for dinner and when she found her wife on life support with bloody hair.

Assistant District Attorney Erin LaFarge requested the judge to lengthen the sentence to three to nine years, stating the terms of the plea deal should be abandoned because Boyd lied to a court officer after his plea.

She claimed that footage of the collision proved Boyd had made up the story that Banes was distracted by her phone and headphones as she crossed the street and that he had stopped to assist her.

“All of this is patently false,” LaFarge asserted, adding that when police discovered Boyd several weeks later, he had denied any knowledge of anything.

“It’s worrisome that he hasn’t learned anything from this experience.”