In September, Cook pled guilty in Baltimore City Circuit Court to vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene of an accident, and texting while driving.

“I am so sorry for the grief and agony I have caused,” Cook told Palmero’s family in court, according to reporting by WBAL-TV. “This is my fault. I accept complete responsibility. I think about you every day.”

The 59-year-old Cook resigned her position as Bishop Suffragan of Maryland earlier this year.

Palermo, a married father of two children, was a Johns Hopkins Hospital software engineer, part-time bike builder, and well known member of the Baltimore bicycling community.

Cook pled guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol in 2010 in Caroline County, receiving supervised probation before judgment. She was also initially charged with possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia as part of that incident, but those charges were later dropped (“nolle prosequi,” according to online court records).

According to the City State’s Attorney’s Office, Cook’s blood-alcohol level was .22 at the time of the Saturday afternoon crash that killed Palmero when Cook veered into the Roland Avenue bike lane that he was riding in.

On New Year’s Day, more than 700 bicyclists gathered in Bishop Square Park, adjacent to the Episcopal Diocese’s Cathedral of the Incarnation on University Avenue, for a memorial ride in Palmero’s honor. Bicycle advocates, per tradition for cyclists killed on the road, placed a memorial “ghost bike” at the scene of tragedy.

“My heart goes out to the Palermo family,” Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said in a statement. “I appreciate the cyclist community of Baltimore for supporting the Palermos in their time of need. This senseless tragedy is a clear example of why law enforcement takes drunk driving and texting while driving so seriously.”

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“The State has recommended 20 years in prison, with all but 10 years suspended, and five years of probation,” Rochelle Ritchie, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office director of communications, told Baltimore magazine. “The sentencing date is scheduled for Oct. 27.”

Cook’s trial had originally been set for tomorrow, but was moved up.

The 59-year-old Cook, who was the second-highest ranking bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland when she struck and killed 41-year-old Tom Palmero on Roland Avenue on Dec. 27, initially pled not guilty to all charges and had been free on a $2.5 million bond.

She resigned her position as Bishop Suffragan of Maryland earlier this year.

It’s since been learned that Cook pled guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol in 2010 in Caroline County, receiving supervised probation before judgment. She was also initially charged with possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia as part of that incident, but those charges were later dropped (“nolle prosequi,” according to online court records).

According to a previous statement from the City State’s Attorney’s Office, Cook’s blood-alcohol level was .22 at the time of the Saturday afternoon crash and that Cook veered into the bike lane that Palermo was riding in. At one of then-new Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s first press conferences, prosecutors alleged that Cooke failed to remain at the scene, returning to her apartment before coming back to the scene where she was transported by Baltimore City Police to Central District and given a breathalyzer test.

Palermo, a married father of two children, was a Johns Hopkins Hospital software engineer, part-time bike builder, and well known member of the Baltimore bicycling community.

“I think the sentence is appropriate,” said Penny Troutner, owner of Light Street Cycles and a longtime Baltimore bicycling advocate. “I’m happy she pled guilty. Tom’s family has been through enough already without having this dragged out any further in court. In a way, I feel badly that someone who has accomplished so much is going to jail, but she is going to be able to continue to live her life while those two children are going to grow up without their father. And a wife is going to have to live without her husband. I hope this sends a chill through people who drink and drive, and text and drive—that if this can happen to her—it can happen to them.”

Bikemore, Baltimore’s nonprofit bicycling advocacy organization, posted a long statement on its website after Cook’s plea today that was supportive of Palmero’s family while at the same time making the case that “as a city we must commit to stronger enforcement of negligence while operating a motor vehicle.”

“We have to commit to having zero tolerance to distracted driving. If the city claims they can’t afford to enforce the laws the state passes, we have to stop accepting that as an acceptable response,” Bikemore said in its statement. “There was a time when driving drunk was more socially acceptable than it is today. There was a time when child seats were scarce, if used at all, and seatbelt laws were just coming into fashion. The argument that getting people to put away phones while we are driving is just too hard doesn’t hold water.”

On New Year’s Day, more than 700 bicyclists gathered in Bishop Square Park, adjacent to the Episcopal Diocese’s Cathedral of the Incarnation on University Avenue, for a memorial ride in Palmero’s honor. Bicycle advocates, per tradition for cyclists killed on the road, placed a memorial “ghost bike” at the scene of tragedy.

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According to a release from the office of Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on Friday, Cook will be “deprived of the right to exercise the gifts and spiritual authority of God’s word and sacraments conferred at ordination.”

And, as such, Cook “will no longer function as an ordained person in the Episcopal Church.”

In a separate, but related announcement Friday, Right Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton and the standing committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland announced the acceptance of Cook’s resignation as bishop suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

Identified as the driver in the Roland Avenue hit and run crash that killed Palermo, Cook faces charges of fleeing the scene of an accident involving death, driving under the influence of alcohol, text messaging while driving, and criminally negligent manslaughter while operating a vehicle while operating a vehicle.

A trial date—the 58-year-old Cook has pleaded not guilty—is scheduled for early next month.

The 2:30 p.m. weekend crash, which occurred when Cook drove into a well-marked bike lane, according to police, led to rallies and a memorial ride in honor of Palermo, a father of two and bike builder, as well as an outcry from local cyclists for serious charges. Photos of Cook’s smashed windshield were published by WBAL.

Not long after the crash, Sutton confirmed in a statement that Cook “did leave the scene initially,” returning 20 minutes later “to take responsibility for her actions.” Subsequent accounts, first reported by the Baltimore Brew, put the time it took for Cook to return at 30-35 minutes. Also, according to several reports, at least one bicyclist followed Cook’s car as it left the Roland Avenue area, attempting to identify the vehicle.

Palermo was alive when police arrived and was taken to Sinai Hospital where he later died.

It was also learned that Cook had pled guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol in 2010 in Caroline County, receiving supervised probation before judgment. She was also initially charged with possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia as part of that incident, but those charges were later dropped (“nolle prosequi,” according to online court records).

Sutton, who knew about her earlier arrest, has said he suspected Cook was drunk two days before her September ordination at a private dinner.

Baltimore City state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby, who has received national attention for her quick action in the wake of the Freddie Gray tragedy, announced the charges against Cook on her first day in office.

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