Cyclist Who Killed Woman Dodges Jail, Not Husband

Husband of pedestrian killed by cyclist to address court.

The San Francisco bicycle rider who struck and killed a tourist in a crosswalk last summer will avoid jail time, but won't be able to avoid the victim's husband.

Randolph Ang, 23, allegedly ran a red light while rushing to get to work on his bicycle at Mission Street and The Embarcadero on July 15. He struck Dionette Cherney, 68, of Washington D.C. Cherney later died of from her head injuries.

Her husband, Colburn Cherney, was expected to address Ang in court Monday when Ang accepts a plea deal that will include probation and community service but no jail time, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

“Our loss is done.  This city has a real problem. Unless people start obeying the law or it gets enforced, more people are going to have to go through this,” Cherney said in court Monday.

Cherney was in San Francisco for a month while his wife was in the intensive care unit of San Francisco General Hospital. She died of head trauma suffered after she fell to the pavement and hit her head following her collision with Ang's bike, according to reports.

In court Cherney explained why he didn't want Ang to face the maximum sentence of one year in county jail.  "It would not do anything to bring (my) wife back," Cherney said.

Cherney's daughter, Beth Harvey, also spoke during Monday's sentencing. She showed pictures of her fallen  mother to Ang to try to express the magnitude of her family's loss.

 "She was a mentor to many and an inspiration to all who met her,"  Harvey said.

Harvey and Cherney had planned a trip to Paris that was scheduled for this winter. Instead, Harvey said, she is left to spread her mother's ashes.

 "I am a shell of my normal self," Harvey said in court.

"Mr. Ang is in a position to discuss with bikers road safety  consciousness about pedestrians,"  Ang's attorney Tony Brass said. "So if he can serve as a symbol  to sort of improve the situation with pedestrians in San Francisco, then  there would be some meaning out of this very tragic event."

Bay City News contributed to this report.

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