A driver accused of intentionally hitting a Kansas bicyclist last month and fleeing faces an upgraded charge of first-degree premeditated murder after the victim died.

   Reno County Assistant District Attorney Andrew Davidson says 19-year-old Taylor Keenan Lukone made his first appearance Tuesday on the new charge. Lukone initially was charged with attempted first-degree murder, but the charge was amended after 51-year-old Jose Lopez died over the weekend. Lukone's attorney didn't immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press. Davidson says he couldn't comment on the motive.

   The Hutchinson News reports that Lukone's vehicle had front end damage. An affidavit read in court last week said that Lukone initially told officers that his car had been stolen. But he later told investigators he intentionally "sped up" and ran Lopez down.

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A 19-year-old man arrested in connection to a hit-and-run that critically injured a Hutchinson man told police he did it intentionally.  

Emergency responders were called at around 1 a.m. Thursday to an anonymous report of a man unconscious in the 1200 block of East 4th Avenue. Fifty-one-year-old Jose L. Lopez was riding a bicycle when he was allegedly hit by 19-year-old Taylor K. Lukone.

The Hutchinson News reports that Lukone initially told officers his car had been stolen, but, after read his Miranda rights,he admitted to hitting Lopez on purpose after he spotted Lopez on his bicycle, according to an arrest affidavit.

“You told an officer you were going to the Kwik Shop to buy cigarettes and saw an individual riding a bike,” Magistrate Judge Cheryl Allen said during Lukone's first court appearance. “You recognized the rider as Jose Lopez and you were angry for the way he treated other people. You sped up. You knew you had hit him and you made no attempt to stop. You left your vehicle on East Sixth Avenue and walked home.”

Lopez was hospitalized at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, where he remains in critical condition.

Lukone was booked into jail on suspicion of attempted second-degree reckless murder. His bond was set at $100,000.

A status hearing at is scheduled for October 2.