Last week I wrote about a wealthy money manager, Martin Joel Erzinger, hitting a cyclist and seriously injuring him in Avon, CO. He left him laying in the road and drove a few miles before he called Mercedes roadside assistance because he had a broken mirror and damaged bumper. He claims he didn’t know he hit anyone.

If Erzinger knew he hit Milo, it’s clear Erzinger should be locked up. If he didn’t know (which I don’t believe), then he shouldn’t be driving and his license should be revoked for life and his Mercedes taken from him.

The District Attorney, Mark Hurlbert, decided to not charge him with a felony even though Colorado law is clear that it’s a class 5 felony. Hurlbert said that “felony convictions have some pretty serious job implications for someone in Mr. Erzinger’s profession, and that entered into his decision”. The news quickly spread from the cycling community to mainstream media. Last I checked over 13 thousand people signed online petition asking Hurlbert to not drop the felony charge.

Hurlbert explained in a letter posted by the Vail Daily that it was too late to change since the plea bargain had been offered. Not that he would have considered it anyway because he argues that he made the best choice.

Because Erzinger had no previous criminal record, he would have likely been given a deferred sentence on the felony charge. If he met the conditions of the deferred sentence, in 2 to 4 years the felony would be removed from his record and he’d be able to say he hadn’t had a felony. In the meantime he could have lost his securities license and if not he’d have to notify all of his clients that he’s a convicted felon.

Erzinger has plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and careless driving causing serious bodily injury. These misdemeanors will stay on his record. He will lose his driver’s license, face potential jail time as determined by the judge and still have to pay restitution.

Milo’s attorney has filed a motion asking the court to review the District Attorney’s decision. The judge could still throw out the plea bargain deal. Then Erzinger could face all 3 charges.

VeloNews has an article that explains the legal issues in the case in more depth.

In other car versus cyclist craziness, Cyclelcious posted about a drunk driver that killed a 7th grade boy riding his bike. The driver is now in jail and is suing the boy’s parents for “contributory negligence” because he wasn’t wearing a bike helmet.

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That’s what District Attorney Mark Hurlbert believes if the hit and run driver has a high paying job. Hulbert is the DA that didn’t have a problem charging Katie Brazelton and Wendy Lyall with felonies last spring because Wendy raced with Katie’s Leadville 100 entry in 2009. Both of them lost their jobs even though the charges pleaded down to misdemeanors.

On July 3rd, Dr. Steven Milo was riding his bike near Edwards, CO and was hit from behind by Martin Joel Erzinger. Erzinger drove a few miles to Avon where he called the Mercedes auto assistance service to ask that his car be towed because of damage. Erzinger told police he didn’t know he had hit Milo.

Milo suffered spinal cord injuries, bleeding from his brain and damage to his knee and scapula, according to court documents. Over the past six weeks he has suffered “disabling” spinal headaches and faces multiple surgeries for a herniated disc and plastic surgery to fix the scars he suffered in the accident.

Now the DA wants to drop felony charges against Erzinger and instead let him plead to two misdemeanor traffic charges because he could lose his job. Erzinger is a director in private wealth management at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Denver. He manages more than $1 billion in assets and would have to publicly disclose any felony charge within 30 days, according to North American Securities Dealers regulations.

The Vail Daily quotes Hulbert as saying “Felony convictions have some pretty serious job implications for someone in Mr. Erzinger’s profession, and that entered into it, When you’re talking about restitution, you don’t want to take away his ability to pay.”

“Mr. Erzinger struck me, fled and left me for dead on the highway,” Milo wrote. “Neither his financial prominence nor my financial situation should be factors in your prosecution of this case.”

You can read more details on the case in an article from the Vail Daily.

A petition has been set up that asks Hulbert to not drop felony charges. Maybe if Hulbert hears enough outrage, he’ll reconsider.

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