Australian businessman sentenced to 364 days in jail for fatal Sunset Strip crash

In this undated booking photo released by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, Ryan Bowman, 43, is shown. Bowman, an Australian businessman, surrendered to authorities in West Hollywood after a pedestrian on Sunset Boulevard was killed in a hit-and-run collision with a Bentley. Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore says the 43-year-old Bowman, accompanied by his attorney, surrendered Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010 and was being booked on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of Lauren Ann Freeman. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Sheriff's Department)

BEVERLY HILLS - An Australian businessman whose company once distributed "Girls Gone Wild" videos was sentenced today to just under a year in jail for a hit-and-run crash that left a 21-year-old woman dead on the Sunset Strip.

Under a plea deal, 34-year-old Ryan Mathew Bowman was sentenced to 364 days in a private Los Angeles jail facility.

Bowman pleaded guilty to a felony count of leaving the scene of the crash that killed Lauren Ann Freeman as she tried to cross Sunset Boulevard at Hammond Street shortly before midnight Nov. 10.

Witnesses said Freeman was in a crosswalk, ahead of a group of friends, when she was struck by a dark vehicle and thrown about 50 feet. Freeman had been at a concert at the Roxy Theatre and was crossing the street with friends to reach a taxi.

Under the terms of the plea deal, Bowman will also be placed on four years probation after his release from jail and he must complete a nine-month alcohol education program. He was also ordered to have a breathalyzer-like device placed on his automobile for one year.

In addition, a restitution amount to be paid to the Freeman family will be determined, prosecutors said.

Investigators found debris from the front end of a gray-to black-colored Bentley at the scene of the crash, according to Sgt. Chris Tatar. A charcoal- gray Bentley with front-end damage and no license plates was later found parked near La Cienega Boulevard and Melrose Avenue.

Accompanied by his attorney, Bowman surrendered

the following afternoon at the sheriff's West Hollywood Station.

Bowman was described at the time as the founder and chief executive officer of Zeal Entertainment, based in Sydney. The company has an office at 9000 Sunset Blvd., not far from where Freeman was struck.

Zeal Entertainment was one of hundreds of third-party international distributors that "Girls Gone Wild" used to distribute its content around the globe, but the two had parted ways nearly a year before the crash.

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