Months after a woman died after being struck by a cyclist, the District Attorney’s office had announced that the cyclist will face charges in her death.
August 11, 68-year-old Dionette Alvarez Cherney (also known as “Didi”) died in the hospital at 5:20 a.m. from injuries she sustained when she was struck by a bicyclist on July 15, according to San Francisco police and San Francisco General Hospital spokeswoman Rachael Kagan.
Officers arrived to the intersection around 8:30 a.m. and found the woman with a life-threatening head injury, Officer Albie Esparza said.
Detectives determined the bicyclist, identified by the Bay Citizen as Raymond Ang, was riding recklessly, ran a red light, and hit the woman who was crossing the street legally, Esparza said. Ang was questioned and detained at the scene before being released.
At the time, Esparza said Ang would face the same potential legal repercussions as the driver of any car involved in a collision with a pedestrian.
Many began to wonder if that was the case, however: in a September report from SF Weekly, “prosecutors are still waiting on pertinent information from the medical examiner which could make or break whether they decide to charge” Ang.
Then in an November 3 letter to the Ex, former CA state senator John Burton asked “Is the district attorney waiting until after the election as to not offend bicyclists?” but according to a DA’s office spokesperson who spoke to the Chron, “there haven’t been any delays on our part,” saying that the Medical Examiner’s office had yet to conclude their investigation.
However, according to the BC, the ME’s office finished their report on Oct. 31st. From there, “police gave the D.A.’s office a complete report on the incident on Nov. 9.”
The next day, the DA’s office opted to charge Ang with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, which could end in a sentence as serious as one year in county jail.
DA’s office spokesperson Omid Talai tells the BC that said that Ang will be arraigned on November 23.
Photo of Cherney: Her obituary
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