The largest lapse in judgement came when the Jeep driver decided to drink and then voluntarily got behind the wheel and drove. From today's NYPost (am I the only semi-literate guy who reads the local NY rags?) ******************************************************** OFFICER SLAIN IN HIGHWAY HORROR MOWED DOWN BY DRUNK & RAGING FIREMAN: POLICE By JAMIE SCHRAM, JANA WINTER and STEFANIE COHEN -------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 15, 2006 -- A drunken volunteer fireman - fueled by road rage - rammed an off-duty cop, tossing him from his motorcycle and pushing the bike 1,000 feet along the West Side Highway, authorities said. The deadly collision happened just minutes after Officer Eric Concepcion, 29, rode past New Jersey volunteer firefighter Robert Derian, 23, shortly after midnight yesterday. Authorities said that when the cop and another motorcycle-riding pal cruised by Derian at 125th Street, he sped up his Jeep Grand Cherokee, turned on his blue emergency flasher and tried to pull them over. When the bikers kept going, he smashed into Concepcion's motorcycle, toppling the officer and pushing the bike forward. The Jeep and cycle came to a stop in a heap of metal at 133rd Street, sources said. It was not clear whether words had been exchanged between the officer and the motorist. Authorities said Derian made an attempt to pose as a good Samaritan and save the dying Concepcion. But witnesses clued cops into Derian's involvement. Concepcion, a six-year veteran who often patrolled Yankee Stadium, was pronounced dead two hours later. "He was a good father, a good husband, a good son and it wasn't his time to go," said Concepcion's wife, Melissa. Melissa, a teacher at PS 56 in The Bronx, said her husband had called hours before he died to check in on her and their two young daughters. "He said, 'I'm having fun, I'm riding around with the guys,' " she recalled. "He loved riding his motorcycle. He said, 'I love you.' I said, 'Be careful. I love you.' That was it. You never know that it's the last time. You never expect that. I just wish I could say that again." Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said it's not clear what sparked Derian's rage. "Words may have been exchanged," he said. But investigators said later they don't believe the men spoke. "It seems like it was an instantaneous type of accident," said Derian's lawyer, James Kridel. "He called 911 and told them what happened, and then he spoke to the officer and rendered aid and assistance." Derian was charged with manslaughter, vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated after a Breathalyzer measured his blood-alcohol content at .12. The legal limit is .08. Derian's lawyer insisted he did not fail the sobriety test. The death of Concepcion "breaks all our hearts," Mayor Bloomberg said. Grieving family and friends described Concepcion as a devoted husband and father who cherished his 4- and 1-year-old daughters. He was born and raised in The Bronx, where part of his police work involved patrolling in and around Yankee Stadium. In honor of the cop last night, Yankee announcer Bob Shepherd called for a moment of silence. Concepcion's brother, Julio, said, "Our whole family is taking it really hard." "Family was always first," said George Rodriguez, an officer who was Concepcion's partner for three years. "When his daughter said 'Daddy' for the first time, it was like he won the lottery." Derian's chief, Steven Flatley of the Saddle River Rescue Squad, said the suspect's five years with the unit were unremarkable. "He wasn't really a gung-ho, live-and-breathe rescue-squad guy," Flatley said.
Hmmmm... let's see how this will play out... Dead police officer, good guy, worked at Yankee Stadium, 2 young kids and a young wife... Jeep guy... way beyond the legal limit (.12 -- that's fairly intoxicated), road rage, car vs. motorcycle, illegally using his emergency light to intimidate cop on bike. And worst of all for Jeep guy -- dead cop had a friend on a motorcycle with him who witnessed the whole thing. His word vs. Jeep guy who was drunk about what happened. Who do you think will be believed? So, will Jeep guy get convicted of manslaughter? Probably not. Will he plead guilty to some lesser charge that still involves jail time? Probably. Will cop's family sue the living sh!dt out of him? Absolutely. And if he doesn't have enough insurance, that judgment will hang around and dip into his pocketbook for the rest of his life. Serves him right. Simple rule -- don't drink and drive. As a rescue squad person, he should have known better.
I'm not sure why the literacy quip is necessary, and I don't appreciate its being aimed at me as looks to be the case. But, do you honestly pose that your reading the NYPost somehow makes you more capable of understanding the situation than the rest of us? It seems fairly obvious that they got involved in some sort of pissing match. The single largest lap in judgement is when someone on a 400lb motorcycle decides to play who-has-the-biggest-balls with someone in a 4000lb SUV. The motorcycle rider is making an exceedingly large number of assumptions about the driver of the SUV (attention, athleticism, reaction time, intentions, etc.)in entering into such a contest. Concepcion paid his life for that mistake. This is common sense. It's obvious how contact will result should it occur between the two vehicles. Pushing the envelope (ie increasing the chance of contact) is an unbelievably large risk to take when riding a bike. The SUV driver's guilt is painstakingly clear, but having grown up on bikes, it boggles my mind that a rider could possess the mentality necessary to start screwing around with cars on the road. Avoiding them is a difficult enough task as it is based on how little attention most drivers allot to the road. This is rule #1 of street riding; getting into an accident with a car increases the chances of severe injury or death exponentially. But, then I'm sure you knew that because you read the Post.
Whoa there Brett, I wasn't attacking you. Rather I was sheepishly admitting that I like to read the local NYC rags like the Post and the Daily News, something that is less then high-brow. Afterall, who needs the uppity up NY Times As for drinking and driving: if you are legally drunk and a 7year old child throws itself under your wheels you are still at fault. There is just no excuse ever to be drunk and behind the wheel, period. We can argue that the same scenario might have played out if he wasn't drunk, and thus alcohol played little in this incident -- but, at the end of the day he was *still* drunk. The law establishes a direct correlation between ones BAC and their ability to opperate a motor vehicle, so while we can argue the physiology of the effect of alcohol, the law is perfectly clear: if you're BAC is more then .08 you are legally drunk and thus are deemed unfit to operate a motor vehicle.
Here I am thinking, "he thinks the Post makes him literate. THE POST!" Ahhh, the monotone of the internet. It's been a long week. Not a bad rag if taken with a grain of salt. Better than most around here for sure (if you see through some of the exaggerations).
what's up bret? i graduated the year after bret. didn't know chase, just knew who he was. it's a relatively small and close community that goes through northern highlands, so news of this spread like wildfire. i received multiple text messages that morning and i don't even have any association with the kid. i feel really bad for the officer's family. his wife and children are obviously going to have quite a struggle.
