Boozed up on rum and Cokes, the motorist accused of fatally mowing down an off-duty cop made no attempt to stop, even with the officer’s motorcycle wedged beneath his SUV, prosecutors said yesterday.
It was a highway barrier that brought Robert Derian’s Jeep to a halt some 900 feet from where he knocked Eric Concepcion off his motorcycle on the West Side Highway early Saturday, according to a criminal complaint.
Derian, 23, of Upper Saddle River, N.J., was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court yesterday on charges of manslaughter, vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated.
Prosecutors said Derian turned on the blue emergency light on his dashboard, chased the motorcyclist and tried to pull him over after what appeared to be an exchange of angry words.
Assistant District Attorney David Lauscher said. “He had no authority to use the light in New York and no authority to chase or pull anyone over.”
Judge Tanya Kennedy set bail at $250,000. Concepcion was riding alongside a friend on another motorcycle when he encountered Derian, according to police, who said the tragedy might have been sparked by a case of road rage.
Concepcion, 29, a father of two young daughters, had been a cop for six years.
“This was a horrific event,” said Derian’s lawyer, James Kridel. “He’s distraught beyond belief.”
Kridel said he would dispute the test, which recorded Derian’s blood-alcohol level at .12. The state’s legal limit is .08.
The complaint said Derian drank two alcoholic beverages containing rum and Coke, and was driving at about 65 mph – 15 mph above the posted speed limit – when the collision occurred.
A wake will be held at 2 p.m. today at the John F. X. McKeon & Son Funeral Home on Perry Avenue in The Bronx. Funeral services will begin at 9:45 a.m. tomorrow at the Church of St. Brendan on East 206th St.
Additional reporting by Leonard Greene