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Old March 16th 05, 12:59 PM
Bill
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Default Killer gets off with 1-3 years

Speed killed, driver admits
Joshua Paniccia struck bicyclist while going over 80 mph; faces 1 to 3
years

By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer
First published: Wednesday, March 16, 2005

BALLSTON SPA -- An 18-year-old Niskayuna man admitted in court on
Tuesday that he hit and killed a bicyclist while speeding at more than 80
mph after a friend in another vehicle last June.
Joshua Paniccia pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in
Saratoga County Court, a felony, and will be sentenced to 1 to 3 years in
prison on June 6 for causing the death of David Ryan, 32. A separate charge
of second-degree manslaughter was dropped. That charge carried a jail term
of up to 15 years.

Prosecutors required Paniccia to detail his actions of June 29, when
he lost control of his 2002 Nissan Sentra going east on Riverview Road in
Rexford and smashed into Ryan, a General Electric physicist from England who
was traveling west on an after-work bike ride.

"I was driving my vehicle on a road a little too fast and hit and
killed Mr. Ryan," Paniccia told the court. Asked by Saratoga County
Assistant District Attorney Jim Davis if he was chasing another vehicle,
Paniccia replied, "I was catching up to someone." When asked if he traveling
in excess of 80 mph, he replied, "Yes."

Riverview Road's speed limit is 45 mph. The State Police Crash
Reconstruction Unit estimated Paniccia was traveling at least 83 mph at the
time of impact, Davis said.

"I think 83 mph is more than a little fast," District Attorney James
A. Murphy III said afterward. He called the plea the first one in Saratoga
County involving street racing and a fatal crash.

"We held Mr. Paniccia accountable for his criminal conduct," Murphy
said. The manslaughter charge was hard to prove because the case did not
involve drugs or alcohol, and prosecutors could not establish that a speed
contest took place, Murphy said. The conviction sends a message that drivers
must obey the speed limit, he said.

Paniccia could have received 1 to 4 years under the charge he pleaded
to. Ryan's parents, Tom and Anne Ryan, who live in England and did not
attend the proceeding, disapproved of the agreement in a prepared statement.

"We feel that a four-year sentence would only be a token and any less
would cause us considerable grief. Not only was David young, but he was
achieving outstanding results for GE, so much so that a project on which he
was working has been named after him by his colleagues. As a family, we miss
him so much."

"He elected to enter that plea and accept responsibility for the
situation," Paniccia's attorney Charles Wilcox said. "It's not a happy day
for either family."

Paniccia left the courtroom without a comment, sheltered by his father
from television cameras. Judge Jerry J. Scarano said he would consider
youthful offender status in the case. If granted, his criminal record would
be sealed after he serves his time, Murphy said.

The teen also must pay $320 in court fees.

Just 10 days prior to the fatal accident, Niskayuna police ticketed
Paniccia for road racing, speeding and misuse of dealer license plates,
prosecutors said. Police in Colonie and Schenectady had also ticketed
Paniccia for speeding.

He was acquitted on the road racing charge, and two of his speeding
tickets were pleaded down to traffic and moving violations, according to
court papers.

State cycling groups and Ryan's friends turned the case into campaigns
for safer roads and eliminating the pleading down of speeding tickets to
non-moving violations. Walter Ciccha, one of Ryan's best friends and
colleagues, said Tuesday that he would continue lobbying the state
Legislature for changes.

"Parents have to take more responsibility for what their kids are
doing," Ciccha said. "This was preventable and I want to make sure it bloody
doesn't happen again."

http://www.timesunion.com/aspstories...StoryID=342295





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