Rohan Dennis' dangerous driving case adjourned to allow time for major crash reconstruction

ZINAL VAL DANNIVIERS SWITZERLAND APRIL 30 Rohan Dennis of Australia and Team Jumbo Visma Turquoise Leader Jersey meets the media press during the team presentation prior to the 75th Tour De Romandie 2022 Stage 4 a 1801km stage from Aigle to Zinal Val dAnniviers 1664m TDR2022 on April 30 2022 in Zinal Val dAnniviers Switzerland Photo by Dario BelingheriGetty Images
Rohan Dennis during his cycling career (Image credit: Getty Images)

Rohan Dennis appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday for a hearing on charges of causing death by dangerous driving and driving without due care, however the case was then adjourned until August 6. 

Dennis was charged after Olympian and former world champion Melissa Dennis (née Hoskins) was hit by a vehicle on December 30 outside their home in Adelaide and later died in hospital.

Prosecutors had requested the hearing be adjourned to allow time to complete a major crash reconstruction, according to a report from ABC. The article from the national broadcaster added that Dennis' bail had been extended until the court date in August.

Dennis and Hoskins, who were married, had only recently returned to settle in Adelaide with their two children as the WorldTour racer retired in 2023. His last race for Jumbo-Visma was in September at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec.

Hoskins had already retired from professional cycling in 2017, having represented Australia on the track at two Olympic Games and she was also part of the winning Team Pursuit squad at the 2015 World Championships. She also lined up on the road with the Australian GreenEdge squad from 2012-2015, claiming the general classification win at the Tour of Chongming Island in 2012.

Her death sent a wave of sorrow through the cycling community, tributes flowed and many riders in the women's peloton wore black arm bands in her memory through the Australian summer of racing. A minute of silence also started the women's events at both the Australian Road National Championships and at the Tour Down Under – an event where she had celebrated victory multiple times – with a number of former teammates among those still involved in the racing.

A funeral service was held for Hoskins in Perth in January and, on what would have been her 33rd birthday, a memorial was also held at the Adelaide Town Hall on Saturday February 24.