WHITE PLAINS – A New City
man was sentenced in Westchester County Court to one-and-one-third to
four years in state prison after having pled guilty to criminally negligent
homicide. Another motorcyclist, Scott Phillips, was killed in the accident.
Clifford Perkins, 27, was among several motorcyclists traveling southbound
on the Sprain Brook Parkway in Westchester County shortly after noon on
May 25, 2014. Witnesses said as he approached the rear of a Mazda, his
bike started to wobble and struck the car from behind. That caused the
car to spin, cross the left lane and leave the shoulder of the road before
striking the center guide rail and re-entering the highway.
Perkins was ejected from his bike, which burst into flames. The accident
reconstruction team estimated he was driving at between 82 and 95 miles
an hour after the impact with the Mazda.
When the car re-entered the highway, Phillips’ motorcycle struck
the car’s passenger side. Phillips was ejected from his bike and
came to rest down an embankment. That motorcycle also caught fire. Phillips
was estimated to be traveling between 58 an 67 miles per hour after the
impact with the car.
At the time of the collision, Perkins had a revoked and suspended driver’s
license with a cancelled motorcycle endorsement.
Perkins failed to appear for his original sentencing date on August 3
and was arrested on August 20 at LaGuardia Airport. He had purchased a
plane ticket to Miami with a further connection to Jamaica.
