‘It haunts you’: Mom reacts after metro-east man sentenced in fatal hit-and-run
A 43-year-old Sparta man was given a three-year prison sentence Thursday in connection with the hit-and-run death of a New Athens-area man riding an e-bike.
Rufus L. Monroe pleaded guilty on Jan. 8 to charges of reckless homicide and failure to report a crash involving the death of bicyclist Christopher “Chris” Barnes, 32, on Aug. 12, 2024, according the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office and court records.
After sentencing by Circuit Judge Jeremy Walker, Monroe was remanded to the Randolph County Jail on a hold for the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Neither Randolph County State’s Attorney Christopher P. Koeneman nor Monroe’s defense attorney, Jeff Hammel of Belleville, could be reached for comment Thursday.
Barnes’ mother, Abby Allen, said after the hearing she was “happy” Monroe received prison time.
Allen, 55, of Missouri, urged motorists to be careful and not use their cellphones while driving.
Allen is not unfamiliar with the grief of sudden loss; her 49-year-old husband, Joseph “Joe” Dunn, was fatally struck in 2021 on Interstate 270 in St. Louis County while checking on his FedEx tractor-trailer, which had mechanical problems. Another man with Dunn was also killed. The driver in that case stopped at the scene and was not charged.
“Please be careful, you are driving a killing machine and you wouldn’t want that to happen to anybody in your family so don’t do it to anybody else,” Allen said. “Life is just too short.”
Hit-and-run fatality
Allen praised investigators who found Monroe about 12 hours after Barnes was struck while riding his e-bike at about 11:15 p.m. Aug. 11, 2024, on County Road 18 near Sparta. Barnes was riding home after working at a fast-food restaurant in Sparta.
Barnes was pronounced dead early Aug. 12, 2024, at the scene.
A passerby saw debris from the collision and then saw Barnes in a ditch.
Allen said officials told her Barnes was still alive when the passerby found him, but the passerby had to drive to a convenience store to call police because her phone did not work at the scene.
She said investigators identified Monroe by examining wreckage at the scene to determine what type of vehicle struck Barnes, then cross-referencing that information with similar vehicles in the area.
Allen said surveillance video showed Barnes’ bike had lights on before he was hit. The lights were still on about 12 hours after the collision.
“There’s no way in the world in my mind that he didn’t see him,” Allen said.
Allen said she asked that a photograph of her son at the scene be shown in court Thursday.
She also wonders what might have been if her son had received medical help shortly after he was struck. If had been treated right away, she and other family members probably wouldn’t have been in a courtroom on Thursday.
Allen remembers her son for always helping her with home repairs. He loved movies and music.
“He had a beautiful smile,” she said. “He was a tall, thin, lanky guy who loved riding his bike. It gave him a lot of freedom. He’d go all over on his bike.”
On Wednesday, the day before Monroe was sentenced, Allen said she learned her son was alive for about 55 minutes after he was struck.
“He was left alone in the dark to die,” she said. “He was alive for 55 minutes, which I found out yesterday.
“And it’s like, you know, what was going through his mind? Was he aware? Was he hurting?
“It haunts you. And I don’t want it to happen to anybody, it’s awful. It’s just awful.”
This story was originally published April 3, 2026 at 4:45 AM.
