Dozens Protest Bail Set For White Plains Firefighter Accused Of Deadly DWI
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Screaming "justice for Reyda," dozens of protesters gathered Monday outside city court in White Plains, where a suspended firefighter accused of killing a woman in a drunken-driving crash appeared.
Among the complaints of the about 80 demonstrators was the $25,000 bond set for Erik Refvik, WCBS 880's Sean Adams reported. Refvik only had to pay 10 percent, or $2,500 in cash, to be released.
The district attorney had requested a higher bail. The judge, however, felt Refvik was not a flight risk, CBS2's Lou Young reported.
Dozens Protest Bail Set For White Plains Firefighter Accused Of Deadly DWI
"We did research: Two Hispanic men did the same thing he did, and they got no bail," said Fernando Mateo with the group Hispanics Across America.
"That's an insult to us."
The $25,000 bond remains in place as the case is being transferred to Westchester County court. The DA is expected to take the case to a grand jury, where increased charges and bail are a possibility.
The court appearance and demonstration happened just steps from where the vehicles collided.
Refvik, 34, was stone-faced and said nothing as he left the courthouse. He is charged with felony criminally negligent homicide and misdemeanor DWI.
He is accused of killing 47-year-old Reyda LaMadrid, a mother who was delivering newspapers with her husband, in the Nov. 3 wrong-way crash in downtown White Plains. Refvik's blood-alcohol level of 0.145 was nearly twice the legal limit when his SUV slammed into LaMadrid's Honda, police said.
Her husband, Edgar Lopez, is still hospitalized.
Refvik released a statement through his attorney Monday.
"I am devastated by the death of Ms. Reyda LaMadrid and the injury suffered by Edgar Lopez," he said. "I am also profoundly sorry for the pain their two children and many loved ones are experiencing."
The crash was so violent that the scene was littered with debris and scattered newspapers for hours afterward, Young reported.
After the crash, Refvik put his SUV in reverse and slammed into the lobby of a nearby apartment building in an apparent attempt to get away, investigators said.
Police found what appeared to be cocaine and pills in the vehicle, Young reported.
The district attorney is awaiting full toxicology reports on Refvik's blood and the results of an accident-reconstruction test to determine how fast he was going.
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