Rohan Dennis has pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified after police caught the former Australian Olympic cyclist behind the wheel despite a five-year driving ban linked to the 2023 incident involving his late wife, Melissa Hoskins.

Dennis, 36, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday after police stopped him last month while he was driving with two children in the vehicle.

The guilty plea comes more than a year after Dennis admitted one aggravated count of creating the likelihood of harm in connection with the incident that led to Hoskins’ death. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors withdrew two more serious charges. The court ruled that Dennis did not bear criminal responsibility for Hoskins’ death but found that he had acted recklessly.

During the earlier hearing, prosecutors said Dennis and Hoskins, who married in 2018, argued over kitchen renovations before he got into his car to leave.

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Hoskins climbed onto the bonnet of the vehicle before moving to the driver’s side and holding onto the door as Dennis drove away. She then fell and the car struck her. Doctors later pronounced her dead in hospital.

In May last year, the judge handed Dennis a 17-month prison sentence but suspended it and instead placed him on a two-year good behaviour bond.

The judge also banned Dennis from driving for five years, with the disqualification taking effect from the day of the December 2023 incident.

On Friday, prosecutors asked the court to refer both the new driving offence and the alleged breach of Dennis’ good behaviour bond to the District Court for further proceedings.