We received this email from Thomas Pantino, one of the grandsons of Ennio Spiri, who was killed Sept 10th while riding his bike. He told me it was okay to pass it along, and it includes more information on the current police investigation and the name of the police detective investigating the matter. We'll contact the detective, but it wouldn't hurt to have multiple voices weigh in on this matter. Click 'details' to read the email.

To the Rockland Bicycling Club:

My name is Tom Pantino, and I am a Grandson of Ennio Spiri, who was killed while riding his bicycle on Friday, September 10th on Congers Road in New City. We have been trying to cope with Ennio's horrible death while at the same time making the arrangements for his viewing and funeral. I was drawn to search Ennio's name on the internet and came across your Rockland Bicycling Club site, and the article mentioning Ennio in the "Club and Regional News" column.

My family and I thank you for your shared sorrow at the loss of, from our viewpoint, a wonderful all-around person, and from yours, one of, if not "the", senior bicycle enthusiasts in Rockland County. At 72, Ennio was in wonderful shape. He rode many miles, every day that the weather allowed it.

We share your outrage that, at least for the moment, this horror is being termed an "accident". To be fair, the police have advised us that the investigation is ongoing (they say it could take up to a week to conclude), and so there has been no formal finding to this point that this was an accident.

That said, we agree that if the event is ultimately deemed an accident, it does not bode well for bicyclists and pedestrians. To us, the fact that there was sun glare, while unfortunate, is no excuse. If a driver cannot see what is in front of him, whatever the reason, he cannot proceed, it is as simple as that. (Would a driving rain or snow that impeded visibility be an excuse if a driver under such conditions hit something or someone? Of course not.)

We believe that Ennio was on the shoulder of the road when he was struck, and that the car veered somewhat onto the shoulder while avoiding the truck that was pulling into M&M farms - although not a narrow lane, it was nonetheless a single lane, and the driver had no right to cross the shoulder line.

But even if Ennio was not on the shoulder, and in fact even if he was next to the truck, in the middle of the street, this would not give a driver the right to proceed where he cannot see in front of him. You must always expect that anyone or anything could be in front of you if you cannot see. If a family were crossing the street, they could have all been killed. How this is not any kind of infraction, much less a serious one, escapes us.

If you would pass the views of the Club on to Detective Stephen Cole-Hatchard of the Clarkstown Police Department while this investigation is still ongoing, it might sway them to view this differently. Alternatively, an article submitted by the Club to the Journal News might be even better. We would prefer that Ennio's death be a reminder to drivers of what they should not and can not do, rather than a proclamation that drivers have a license to kill, provided the sun is in their eyes.

Thanks for listening.

Thomas Patino

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