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14-year
sentence in cyclist's death
Defendant
apologizes in court to Sonoma victim's grieving relatives, friends
Tuesday,
August 24, 2004
By
STEVE HART
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Friends
and relatives tearfully remembered Daniel O'Reilly on Monday, then heard a judge
give a 14-year prison sentence to a drunken driver who killed the 43-year-old
father of two as he bicycled home from work in April.
Judge Elaine Rushing gave William Michael Albertson, 46, of Cobb the maximum
term for vehicular manslaughter in O'Reilly's death.
O'Reilly of Sonoma was an actor, dancer, musician, environmentalist, marketing
whiz and devoted husband and father, family members said at the emotion-filled
hearing.
"He was so much more than a victim of this crime," said Mary Eble, his
sister-in-law. "He can never be replaced."
O'Reilly's wife, Patty, said her life has been changed forever.
"I have lost my best friend for the past 17 years," she told the
judge. "I have had to tell our daughters that their father would never be
coming home to us again."
O'Reilly was bicycling home from his job as a marketing analyst at
Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates in Santa Rosa when he was struck at about 5:20 p.m.
April 19 on Mark West Springs Road, near Riebli Road, north of Santa Rosa. He
was an avid bicyclist who pedaled to work at least once a week, friends said.
CHP investigators said Albertson's pickup swerved into a guardrail and struck
O'Reilly, throwing him 25 feet off the road. Albertson didn't tell authorities
who had responded to reports of his wreck that he'd hit anyone, and O'Reilly's
body wasn't discovered until later that evening.
Albertson was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, and authorities said the
level of alcohol in his blood was almost three times the legal limit. He has
been held without bail in the Sonoma County Jail.
Last month, Albertson pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter, drunken driving
and hit-and-run driving.
O'Reilly's killing happened just eight days after two other bicyclists were
struck by a drunken driver near Santa Rosa. One of those cyclists died and the
other was seriously injured.
The accidents outraged Sonoma County bicycle activists, who attended Monday's
hearing and other proceedings in Albertson's case.
Rushing said she hopes Albertson's sentence tells motorists they must make room
for bicyclists.
"Bicycle riders have the same rights as automobile drivers," the judge
said.
Rushing said a maximum prison sentence is "the only way to protect
society" from such drivers as Albertson.
His sentence includes a five-year enhancement because Albertson previously was
in prison for assault in 1999.
He must serve at least 85 percent of the new sentence before being eligible for
parole.
Albertson said Monday he is sorry for the crash and asked O'Reilly's family to
forgive him.
"I chose to drive my vehicle under the influence of alcohol," he said.
"I am so, so sorry."
Some in the courtroom wept as they viewed a video montage of O'Reilly's life,
including childhood snapshots and photos of him with his wife and daughters
Erin, 12, and Siobhan, 7.
Nancy Econome of Kendall-Jackson said O'Reilly was "the environmental
conscience of our company," organizing recycling efforts and bike-to-work
days.
Deputy District Attorney William Brockley told Albertson he deserves the maximum
sentence for killing O'Reilly.
"You took the life of one of the good people," he said.
The crash was the second in April involving a drunken driver and bicyclists.
Santa Rosa attorney Harvey Hereford, 69, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and
other charges in the April 11 death of bicyclist Allen Liu, 31, of Mountain
View. He also admitted injuring Liu's girlfriend, Jill Mason, 26, of Cupertino.
Hereford will be sentenced Sept. 13. |
