Manslaughter charge in Hockessin bicyclist's death

Gabriel F. Pardo, the DuPont Co. manager who police said killed a Hockessin bicyclist in September and fled the scene, now faces manslaughter and child endangerment charges.

The indictment recently handed down by a New Castle County grand jury is the first public disclosure that the 44-year-old Pardo had his children in the car when his black Audi sedan struck Phillip Bishop on Brackenville Road about 8:45 p.m. on Sept. 12.

The indictment doesn't say how many children were in the car, but Pardo's attorney Joseph A. Hurley said his client's three sons, whose ages are about 5 to 10, were inside.

According to the indictment, Pardo's sons knew "either by sight or sound" that their father had killed Bishop, and "failed to immediately stop and render aid."

Hurley also said Pardo had been drinking "earlier in the day" but there were no indications he was intoxicated when his sons' mother met him at the Hockessin Acme to exchange the children.

"He didn't just pick them up. They all walked around the Acme and she had ample opportunity" to observe whether he was impaired, Hurley said.

Pardo is free on $50,000 secured bail and continues to work at his job at DuPont's Chestnut Run facility outside Wilmington, Hurley said.

The lawyer on Tuesday filed a motion to amend the conditions of Pardo's bail, specifically that his passport be returned so he could travel to South America for DuPont. Pardo's profile on the professional network LinkedIn lists his title as regional market and business manager for DuPont Disinfectants.

Pardo's Superior Court arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 19 and he faces a hearing on his bail motion Dec. 23, court records show.

Manslaughter, child endangerment

Bishop, 27, an aspiring teacher, was killed less than a mile from his home in Stuyvesant Hills while pedaling home from his job as a manager at Greenville's Purebread Deli.

Pardo's arrest warrant said his 2003 Audi was traveling on the wrong side of the narrow winding two-lane road when it struck Bishop, who was "lawfully riding his bicycle," which was equipped with safety lights. He was wearing his helmet with a head lamp, flashlight and his bike had a rear flashing red marker light.

Pardo and his children were about a quarter-mile from their home in the 2300 block of Brackenville Road when police said he killed Bishop.

Though sources have said Pardo's children were in the car, his arrest warrant did not mention the boys' presence. The indictment was the first public confirmation that they witnessed the killing. Hurley said two of the sons gave interviews to police.

Pardo didn't call 911 after the accident, police said, but the next morning he contacted the county police non-emergency line to say his Audi "hit something" on Brackenville Road the previous night and "wanted police to come check it out to see if he was the person who hit the cyclist."

The Audi's entire front windshield was cracked, its Audi emblem was missing and the car had damage to the passenger side front bumper, grill, hood and roof. There appeared to be "bodily fluids and hair on the damaged areas of the car," the warrant said.

Less than four days after the crash, Pardo was charged with two felonies – criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

Now he faces the higher charge of manslaughter, which could put him bars for a minimum of two years and up to 25 years, although sentencing guidelines used by Delaware judges call for two to five years in prison.

Attorney General Beau Biden's office would not discuss the new charges from the Nov. 24 indictment, except to say that their joint investigation with New Castle County police led to the felony manslaughter count in place of the criminally negligent homicide count. He still faces a charge of leaving the scene of an accident, plus six misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child and reckless driving.

Hurley said Thursday he was not surprised by the new charges, saying that prosecutor Sean Lugg decided to increase the charges but would then likely offer a plea deal to criminally negligent homicide, which has no minimum prison sentence.

"They push to the highest you can conceivably push," Hurley said. "They high ball and have a negotiating position."

Contact senior investigative reporter Cris Barrish at (302) 324-2785, cbarrish@delawareonline.com, on Facebook or Twitter @crisbarrish.