Downtown Express
June 29 – July 5, 2007
Jennifer Milne

ttp://www.downtownexpress.com/de_216/trialofdriverwho.html

The trial of Eugenio Cidron, 27, charged with vehicular manslaughter and D.W.I. in the Dec. 1, 2006, death of cyclist Eric Ng, 22, on the West Side Highway bike path, has been postponed for the fifth time. On June 20, a N.Y. Supreme Court judge delayed the start of the trial to Aug. 1. Cidron is still out on a $50,000 bail bond.

Barbara Ross, a volunteer with Time’s Up!, a cycling-environmental group, said Ng also volunteered with the organization.

“He was in the cycling community,” Ross said. “He was involved in a lot of organizations. The part that strikes me is the fact that when a cyclist is killed, there’s never enforcement, there’s never an investigation, never a ticket issued. The only exception is when alcohol is involved.”

Ross said she finds the continual delays of the case to be “really disappointing.”

Cidron reportedly was drinking at Chelsea Piers before driving a few miles down the bike path, hitting Ng near Clarkson St. His brother told the New York Post last year that Cidron was “distraught” by the accident and “he couldn’t believe what happened.”

Brendan Chao, Cidron’s attorney, said he’s still waiting for prosecution documents and it’s “standard” for cases to be delayed when they’re in discovery.