"From the get-go, police revealed that Rodriguez's blood/alcohol level was twice the legal limit and that he was bicycling the wrong was down Central Avenue in Fremont at the time Tay allegedly struck him. But at Tay's 2024 preliminary hearing, a judge threw out the manslaughter charge, finding that there wasn't even evidence that Tay knew he'd hit anything other than scrap metal, and that a second motorist struck Rodriguez's bicycle afterwards without noticing it."
"Before that hearing, Tay's lawyer filed a lengthy motion to dismiss saying that Rodriguez was bicycling erratically, and had gotten off his bike and bent down at the time of the collision, leaving himself out of Tay's line of sight. The motion also says that Tay, who was 69 at the time, worked a night shift at an Amazon center and a day shift at his son's autobody shop each day and was commuting to the former job at the time."
David Tay, 72, was initially charged with vehicular manslaughter after a Nov. 9, 2022 crash that killed 29-year-old bicyclist Ruben David Rodriguez Jr. Police reported Rodriguez's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit and that he was bicycling the wrong way down Central Avenue when Tay allegedly struck him. At Tay's 2024 preliminary hearing, Judge Paul Delucchi threw out the manslaughter charge, finding no evidence Tay knew he'd hit anything beyond scrap metal and noting a second motorist later struck the bicycle. Delucchi reduced the hit-and-run count from a felony to a misdemeanor. Prosecutors dropped remaining charges the following March. Family members delivered victim impact statements before dismissal.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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