The cop who rammed a dirt bike, killing its driver and injuring the passenger, was caught in an apparent lie yesterday after surveillance video viewed in Bronx Criminal Court shows the minivan he says obstructed his view was well past him seconds before impact.
Officer Edward McClain remained adamant during the trial for the dirt bike’s passenger, Adalberto Gonzalez, 28, who faces charges of reckless driving and operating a motorcycle without a license in the August incident in Hunts Point.
The video shows McClain’s cruiser first knocking Gonzalez off his own bike. Gonzalez then ran one city block and jumped on the back of Eddie Fernandez’s bike before McClain rammed them both.
The 41st Precinct cop estimates he was traveling about 30 mph in an attempt to cut off Gonzalez at Randall and Coster streets.
“I pass the minivan, looked to my right saw, no one, [and] the next thing I know, a motorcycle with two people sitting on it — and I jam on my brakes,” he said.
“I jammed on the brakes and I skidded into the bike and the bike skidded into the pole.”
Gonzalez’s lawyer, who is trying to discredit McClain to get the case tossed out, says the video clearly shows the police cruiser about 30 to 40 feet away from the intersection when the mini-van passes it.