Cecy Krone
From the 12/14/00 Marin Independent Journal

Toy drive to honor bicycle victim By Guy Ashley Cecelia

"Cecy" Krone lost her life because of a momentary collision of tragic circumstances, but 15 months after her death friends and admirers continue to strive to make sure her commitment to the disadvantaged endures.

Krone, a dedicated bicyclist, was killed by a drunken driver while riding near the Nicasio Reservoir on Sept. 4, 1999. This Sunday - on what would have been her 44th birthday - dozens of fellow cyclists will remember Krone by riding from Corte Madera to Woodacre, where they will drop off toys earmarked for youngsters who might otherwise not have much to look forward to this Christmas.

"Cecy had done a similar ride in San Diego, and talked of putting one together here," said Krone's longtime friend, Larry Nigro of San Anselmo. He said that Krone made a career of teaching children with learning disabilities and often was involved in some form of volunteer community service.

This will be the second year in a row that cyclists will remember Krone by pedaling out to the Dickson Ranch in Woodacre, where resident Grace Tolson runs the Valley Toys and Joys toy drive. Tolson said the toy drive, which she has run for 10 years, seeks to fill the holiday wish lists of youngsters facing trying circumstances that might otherwise leave them bereft of holiday cheer. "We supply holiday toys to families in need," Tolson said. "It's not just poor people, but people who are in some kind of crisis at this time of year. "We're here to offer a little help - without the red tape," she said.

About 30 cyclists participated in the ride last year, and Nigro said he is confident the list of cyclists will grow significantly this year. Tolson said she's glad for the help, considering that her all-volunteer effort is aiming to reach 160 kids this year. She also said she's astounded that Krone continues to inspire so many people long after her death. "Her death really has caused a lot of contributions to this community," Tolson said. "She continues to touch families out here in a positive way."

Nigro said Sunday's 10-mile ride - estimated to last about 90 minutes - is being supported by two well-known bicycle groups, Marin Cyclists and the Marin County Bicycle Coalition.

Krone, who lived in San Anselmo, was in a weekly group ride to the Nicasio Reservoir when she was struck by a Jeep driven by a Lagunitas woman.

Tests later showed that the woman, Michele Young, had a blood-alcohol level of more than 2 times the legal limit when the crash occurred. Young, who later pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter, is serving a six-year sentence at a Stockton prison for women.

Krone's mother, Adeline Krone of Ontario, San Bernardino County, said knowing that so many people will benefit from her daughter's memory will help her through what will surely be a difficult time of year. "The pain doesn't get any less as time goes by," Adeline Krone said. "But it does help to know something positive like this is being done in her name."

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From the Saturday (03/11/00) Marin Independent Journal  

6-year term in death of bicyclist 

By Guy Ashley

A Lagunitas woman was sentenced to six years in prison yesterday for killing a bicyclist in a drunken-driving accident near San Geronimo.

A sobbing Michele Young begged for forgiveness from the family of Cecelia "Cecy" Krone moments before she was sentenced for killing Krone in the Sept. 4, 1999, crash on Nicasio Valley Road.

"I can't imagine the horror of losing your child," she told Marin Superior Court Judge Terrence Boren.

Young, 50, pleaded guilty in January to vehicular manslaughter and child endangerment in connection with the crash that killed Krone, who lived in San Anselmo.

According to court testimony, the crash occurred after an early morning binge of Bloody Marys that left Young's senses blurred by alcohol. Young's 10-year-old son was in the passenger seat when her Jeep struck the bicyclist. He was not hurt in the crash.

Krone, 42, was taking part in a weekly group ride to the Nicasio Reservoir when she was struck by the Jeep Wagoneer driven by Young. The impact caused Krone's bicycle and her safety helmet to shatter into pieces.

The sentence handed down yesterday satisfied Krone's family, but was deemed too severe by Young's attorney, Roger Hurt.

Hurt asked Boren to sentence Young to local jail time only, a scenario he hoped would have enabled his client to be near her family and enroll in an alcohol treatment program.

"She's not prison material," Hurt said of Young.

The prosecutor, Kathryn Mitchell of the Marin District Attorney's Office, urged Boren to hand down a stiffer sentence of 7 years, 4 months.

"Ms. Young has had a problem with alcohol for most of her adult life," Mitchell said. "It shouldn't have taken the death of an innocent person for her to finally admit she has a problem."

In pleading guilty, Young admitted she acted with "gross negligence" by drinking herself to extreme intoxication in the hours before the 9:30 a.m. crash. A blood test taken two hours after the crash revealed her blood-alcohol level to be .20, 21/2 times the legal limit for drivers in California.

Hurt said throughout the case that Young, who also has a 1993 drunken driving conviction, is an alcoholic who needs to be treated rather than punished.

The accident drew wide attention to the plight of bicyclists who travel Marin's increasingly busy roadways. 

Krone's death preceded by four months the death of another cyclist, Kirk Ross of San Anselmo, who also was struck while riding on Nicasio Valley Road.

An investigation into that case is wrapping up and it will be referred to the district attorney within the next two weeks for possible charges, said Officer Marcus Bar-tholomew of the California Highway Patrol.

Yesterday's sentencing hearing took place before a courtroom packed with observers, many wielding bicycle helmets in an appeal for roadway safety. The crowd was silent as Young's husband, John, pleaded with the court to release his wife "sooner rather than later."

John Young said the couple's son, John Oliver Young, suffers from diabetes, a condition that requires that his blood be tested several times a day to monitor glucose levels.

Michele Young was instrumental in monitoring the boy's health, her husband said, and the boy has suffered greatly since she was jailed.

"He needs physical contact with his mother," John Young said of the boy. "Like everyone in this courtroom, he needs the healing to begin."

Later, Krone's mother and two sisters spoke tearfully of their loss. They also asked for a prison sentence for Young to ensure Young could not again act on the urge to drink and drive.

"We all need a time out from Michele Young," said Krone's sister, Kathleen Sutphen.

Andrew Hardardt of San Rafael, one of the bicyclists who came upon Krone moments after she was struck, called the sentence "fair," but said he couldn't help thinking about the lifetime of struggles the incident will bring Young's son.

Krone's longtime friend, Larry Nigro of San Anselmo, said he also found himself thinking about John Oliver Young during yesterday's hearing.

Nigro is a teacher at San Geronimo School, where the boy is a student.

"Seeing him out on the playground, playing with his friends, it takes your breath away," he said. 

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A MESSAGE FROM CECY'S MOTHER:

Michele Marsha Griffin Mosher Young
what have you done?
You beg the courts for mercy.
You gave my daughter none.

Kill someone and you are a star. When Ms. Young pleaded guilty in court to two felony counts in exchange for sentence concessions, her victim's name was mentioned only once during the entire hearing. That in a dry reading of a complaint against the killer. To date there has been no real opportunity in court to explain what a remarkable person Cecy was and what loss her killing is to family, friends, cyclists, teachers, patients and to society.

Cecy was a joy to me, her mother, from the date of her birth. She was fun to be around and many times a surprise. Many of us have "Cecy" stories. To pick one, when Cecy was in first grade her caretaker Mrs. Murphy called me at work to say Cecy disappeared after school. I called police and was told she was there, "interviewing" the chief. That day, Cecy's teacher had spoken to her class of postmasters, fire chiefs, and chiefs of police. Cecy walked to the post office, the fire station, and police headquarters to see such persons in real life. They were enchanted with this child. Cecy was unique and always had a logical explanation for offbeat activities.

Cecy graduated from high school and college with honors and did required clinical affiliations prior to taking her boards for Registered Occupational Therapist. She worked consecutively in Pasadena, San Diego and Marin, during 1999 with children of county schools. Her clients were six, seven, ten year olds. Some were autistic, others had learning disabilities or trouble with fine and motor skills. Most of what Cecy did with children looked like play but was serious work. It is ironic that, if Cecy's life had been spared and Ms. Young's son injured during his mother's alcoholic binge 9/04/99, Cecy could have worked with the son's impairment. 

Another irony is that Cecy took great care of the life I gave her, exercising and eating a healthful diet, yogurt, no red meats, etc. (Well, she did have a weakness for ice cream). To think that Cecy was killed by a person indulging in hard liquor to excess and allegedly reaching for cigarettes as she crushed the life out of Cecy's healthy body with a 2-l/2 ton assault weapon. 

A third irony is Cecy's letter to the Marin IJ editor printed 5/11/99 "... the next time you encounter a cyclist on the road or trail, why not try a friendly wave or greeting?" Michele Young either didn't read that or didn't care. Her expensive private defense attorney states Ms. Young "needs to be treated rather than punished." Treatment for alcoholism is available in prison. But what about treatment for her anger management problem? From the accident report, the killer is remembered by her personalized license plate of previous incidents running cyclists off the road. She honked her horn angrily at cyclists prior to killing Cecy, and a comment from one cyclist to another was, "this is road rage happening". 

Cecy enjoyed the fine arts, museums, theater, Broadway musicals, books. She was competitive. She took up cycling after skiing, jogging and triathlons. She maintained her membership in and wore San Diego Bicycle colors after moving north. During the last two weeks of her life, before returning to San Anselmo, she rode in Seattle with RAW (Ride Around Washington). There were memorial rides for Cecy simultaneously on September 11 in Seattle, Marin, and San Diego. A week later a memorial at Mt. Baldy Village Church was sponsored by grade school and high school friends with whom she had an annual reunion three weeks before her death. Cecy was loyal. She loved cycling and cyclists, who chose well in depicting her a standard bearer for road safety. 

Christmas 1999. Cecy's Christmas stocking hung empty, the first time since her birth. The most personal and most painful of Cecy's story by me, her mother, is of her final moments and I can only guess when they were. Cecy is not the first of my children to die. Another  daughter was ill of cancer many months and, just before breathing her last, came out of her coma and said "Mom". Did Cecy, at any time as the monster rolled over her, say or think "Mom, help me"? I couldn't help my baby. I couldn't. Did I have a right to something more than sitting by her broken body at a trauma center after she died? And Michele Young wants mercy. 

The California State Legislature, in enacting Penal Code 191.5, a section which includes gross vehicular manslaughter states "... In view of the severe threat to public safety which is posed by the intoxicated driver, there is a compelling need to identify and penalize those who voluntarily consume alcoholic beverages to the point of legal intoxication and thereafter operate a motor vehicle, thereby combining  sharply impaired physical and mental faculties with a vehicle capable of exerting great force and speed and causing severe damage and death." Note key words in lawmakers' intent, compelling need to penalize.

To estimate the cost of M. Young's alcoholic 9/04/99 misadventure is mind-boggling. Cecy's medical expenses alone totaled over $40,000. Granted some was covered by insurance, but you wonder why insurance costs are high? And then there was the cost of law enforcement  and court costs. I object strongly to Cecy's killer being assured of sentence concessions as being contrary to the intent of the state legislature. Her past record proves unreliability. Any sentence less than the maximum allowable by law increases the probability of recidivism. The only l00% sure deterrence to Ms. Young driving drunk again is for the period of time she is incarcerated.  

This is another plea for letters to the Marin County probation officer, Patricia Bonelli. Society deserves to be protected from the likes of Michele Young. Thank you for your kindnesses.

- Cecy's Mom 

PLEASE WRITE TO:

Patricia Bonelli
Marin County Probation Department
3501 Civic Center Drive
San Rafael, California 94903-4195

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Cecy Krone's killer, Michele Young, has agreed to plead guilty to the most serious charges against her, the grossly negligent vehicular manslaughter while under the influence and felony child endangerment. In return, the District Attorney will drop two lesser charges related to driving under the influence.

Thus, THERE WILL BE NO TRIAL!

Judge Boren has indicated that he is currently considering sentencing Ms. Young to no more than the midpoint for these charges.

Ms. Young will formally change her plea on WEDNESDAY, January 19, at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom "G" of the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael. We need to show Judge Boren, who will make the final sentencing decision shortly thereafter, that we are still paying attention to this case. ALL OF OUR EFFORTS HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON MAKING SURE THAT JUSTICE IS SERVED AND CECY IS NOT FORGOTTEN. THIS IS THE FINAL PUSH! Please, if there is anyway you can make it, join Cecy's family, friends and other supporters at court for the plea change.

CECY KRONE'S KILLER TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE AT TRIAL ON ALL COUNTS!

The Preliminary Hearing of Cecy Krone's Killer, Michele Young, concluded today  and, as expected, Judge Terrence Boren announced his decision from the bench. To a SRO courtroom filled with helmet-toting cyclists and supporters, Judge  Boren said that the District Attorney's Office had presented sufficient evidence  for him to determine that there was probable cause to believe that Michele Young  was guilty of each of the crimes alleged against her, including the Vehicular  Manslaughter while Under the Influence with Gross Negligence charge and the felony  Child Endangerment charge.

Ms. Young's defense argued that there was not sufficient evidence for the gross negligence charge (which carries a 15 to life sentence)and that Ms. Young, instead,  should be charged with the simple negligence crime (which carries only a maximum 10 year sentence). The defense also argued that Ms. Young should not be charged with felony child endangerment, but rather with only misdemeanor child endangerment. (Ms. Young's 10 year-old son was in her SUV at the time of the collision.)

The District Attorney's Office argued that the evidence showed that Ms. Young's blood alcohol level at 9:30 a.m. (the time of the crash) was nearly three times the legal limit, that she had a prior conviction for a DUI collision with a similar blood alcohol level, that she had gone through a court-mandated training program for DUI violators (and, thus, should have known better), that she attempted to drive over 100 miles that morning, that she had passed a group of cyclists shortly before the collision and had acted belligerently to them, that she drove her Jeep Cherokee off the side of the roadway on a blind corner while looking through her purse for her cigarettes, that she was driving without her required corrective lenses and that, as a result of the above, she struck and killed Cecy.  That, according to the D.A., was clearly gross negligence. The D.A. also argued that  all of the above constituted felony child endangerment. Judge Boren agreed.

The next step in the criminal process is an arraignment on the full set of charges, which is scheduled for December 17 at 9:00 a.m. It is anticipated that Ms. Young will enter pleas again then and that the trial will be set to begin in mid to late February.

On behalf of Cecy's family and friends, thank you all for your great show of support. It was very gratifying to see a full courtroom today.

PBS TO AIR DRUNK DRIVING SPECIAL Starting the week of December 13th, PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, will air a special on drunk driving entitled "ROAD PREDATORS." Cecy's mom, Adeline Krone, hopes that you and your friends and family will watch it. Check your local PBS station for air time and date.

- Oren Noah

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by Craig Gaevert

My personal recollection of the memorial ride is what follows. It's a little on the long side but I hope you find it of interest. I'm posting to the list at the encouragement of Bill O.

14 September 99

I went to the Cecy Krone Memorial Ride this past Saturday. I went because there was something about it that felt right and certainly the cause seemed right. A young woman killed while standing at the side of the road, stradling her bike, by a drunk driver. She was killed by a woman that had been drinking since 7 am and by 9:30 am when this murderous accident occurred had a blood alcohol level of .21. In the past I have not gone to memorial rides partly because I didn’t know the person, and partly because of the anarchic nature of mass rides. This time something was different, because when the word came out that we would have a full police escort I was swayed.

We gathered in San Anselmo at the San Anselmo Coffee Roasters just before 9 and by we I mean myself, several club members I knew and 500 or 600 other cyclists. Everyone milled around waiting for the start. There was a montage in the window of the coffee roaster of Cecy. There were posters up and down San Anselmo Avenue announcing the ride. There were cyclists from everywhere in the Bay Area and some from the San Diego Bicycle Club. Something was different, no doubt. Media swirled around us, interviewing various people and cameras were omnipresent. Myself, I settled for the digital camera I brought with me. I don’t ever quite feel right poking a camera around at an event like this with so many people in open grief. Here and there, there would be two or three cyclists hanging on each other in open grief. I too was beginning to feel some of the grief as it hung on all of us like the low fog of the day. But I decided that I would take some pictures to share with other club members this rare event that no cyclist ever wants to plan for.

In a rather rare on time move (bike rides never start on time), Fred Lengyel addressed the memorial peloton almost precisely at 9. I don’t remember the contents clearly but I do remember the somber feeling that was now in evidence as we began to organize ourselves to ride out of San Anselmo in a re-creation of the tragic ride of the previous weekend. The pace would be slow, and as I was to find out later it was led by Cecy’s eldest niece. Bikes of Cecy’s friends went by first, laden with flowers, which are not easy to hang on racing road bikes. Several riders passed with flowers sticking out of their back pockets. The remainder of us slowly moved forward in the largest snake pedal one could imagine.

Ahead red and blue lights from police cars flashed as they moved to cork intersections for us. We traversed small streets paralleling Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, breezing through stop signs as we were allowed for this memorial procession, moving on streets that left us out-of-towners a little dazed. We simply continued following the wheel of the cyclists in front of us. Leaving San Anselmo and entering Fairfax we were handed off to the Fairfax Police Department and we could see Highway Patrol moving up SFD to line up for their duties. I found myself just trying to keep upright and moving straight what with the jostle of other cyclists and the narrow streets. I found myself also trying to avoid the one rider who brought his Bob loaded with a ghetto blaster playing tunes he thought would be appropriate for the ride (Cecilia, you’re breaking my heart . . ). I couldn’t move ahead easily and before long he ended up in front of me. Eventually he was dropped on the hill as we left Fairfax, moved on to SFD and began the climb of White Hill.

Climbing White Hill, the usual little things that go unnoticed by in a normal ride appeared en masse as it seemed there were several riders on the shoulder with flats and the few red faced ones who had managed to drop their chains. I for one was silently thinking, ‘Please don’t drop the chain.’ A dropped chain in the middle of this pack would be a certain mess no doubt met with much cursing. However, I didn’t hear anything other than the chit chat of riders who hadn’t seen each other in a while and we all managed to make it up the grade without any pack falls. With the ride being populated with mostly locals the mood was more jovial as all connected with friends they hadn’t seen in a while. The climb was taking its toll on me though after several lackluster weeks of non-riding I was breathing a little hard. The hill was not long and as we rolled over the crest the long line of cyclists stretched out for the descent. While I was nervous enough with so many cyclists around me, the descent turned out to be fairly easy as I was at the back of the first pack of riders and there was a large gap behind me to the next group. At least I didn’t have to worry about some terrorist coming up on me from behind zigging and zagging to get ahead. Surprisingly most people rode rather civilly with not too many sudden odd moves.

As we moved into the flats before the golf course, horse riders at a ring off to the side stopped in amazement as they watched this procession roll past. Traffic coming the other way had their hands out their windows with their thumbs in the air in support. We felt righteous. I took the camera and held it over my head to take a picture forward, then flipped the lens over and took one to the rear. Nothing but colorful jerseys in the cool Marin countryside for as far down the road as one could see and flashing sheriff lights at the intersections. We started to pass the golf course and ahead I could see CHP and the right turn we needed to make at Nicasio Valley Road. Slowing this peoloton would have to be delicately done. As we turned, sure enough we were coming to a stop as the road had a stiff climb to it and cyclists were rolling into the other traffic lane and others were dropping their chains trying to make the gear change. But we all continued to move ahead, under the golf course bridge with photographers overhead (it had to be a great photo vantage point). Ahead the road flattened a little as it nudged towards Roy’s Redwoods, the site for the memorial service later after we ascended the hill to the site of murderous accident. As we passed Roy’s there was an area cordoned off for the family and just ahead I could see an older woman with her family, tears streaming down her face as she looked into the eyes of cyclists riding by, in what had to be absolute amazement at this rolling procession for her daughter. We … we were on a mission to the top of this hill. We would have our memorial for this fallen rider of hers and ours and we would do this in peace. The Highway Patrol would see to it that there would be no traffic on this road while we held our gathering.

A short climb later we reached a wide spot where we could all pull out, where a memorial had already been erected in less than a week, just below the crest of the hill, the site of the murderous accident. The road rounded to the right and narrowed in a rock gap as it reached the crest, and the wide spot overlooked a verdant scene towards the golf course and SFD. It was filled with all of the cyclists that had come to support the cause of cycling if there is such a thing. We had come to support someone who certainly shouldn’t have had to die for it. Many parked their bikes and walked up to a small shrine of flowers and bike parts at the crest of the road, where Cecy had been killed. The orange spray paint counting out the distance was still on the pavement and it was this path that many walked. Many stood a respectful distance away as individuals walked forward to place flowers and grieve in silence. Even the media handled the event so carefully without ever getting in the way or making an awkward move. At one time I took a photo of some young girl’s standing observing the roadside shrine without knowing that they were Cecy’s nieces. In low voices around me I could here the stories of the previous weekend, as the witnesses recounted what happened, reliving the terror of finding someone you know and love seriously wounded on the side of the road and feeling totally unable to do enough to save or help her. There was genuine grief to be heard at this site this day and it was spread out on this road for all to share and grieve.

Myself and other club members watched from the high edge of an embankment that gave us a good view to the murderous accident scene and the gathering just below. No one had much to say. Bill Dunn thanked me for coming. I shyly offered that it was the least I could do because it felt right. I thanked him too for all the work he did to help put this memorial ride together and encouraging us to come. We continued to watch and simply shared the surrounding grieving. Before long many had drifted down to the memorial service in the redwood grove. We must have missed the signal as it appeared to be under way when we rolled by on the road. Before we left the hill I spent some time at the simple memorial and took more photos. It was difficult to get close to the memorial as everyone wanted to view and touch it. The monument said it all: "Cecy Krone, Killed by a Drunk Driver."

Four of us decided to head back to San Anselmo and forego riding in the rest of Marin ? the memorial ride had been the ride for us. We headed back as a group though we all had different strengths, Doug Simon being the strong man here and Bill Anderson being the slowest. We rode together because we didn’t know the roads and perhaps more because we felt good together. It wouldn’t have been right today to have left your club brother to struggle back as you hammered ahead. Doug, LaValle, Craig and Bill, we rode together. Somewhere in Fairfax we picked up Alan and Sue. They too felt somewhat lost as we caught them when they were stopped to look over a map. Now we were six. We rode to San Anselmo discussing what a wonderful event this had been, how we wished more club members had come. When we reached San Anselmo and parted ways I promised I would have the photos on a website by 3 p.m. I made it as promised.

?????

The web site pictures tell thousands of words yet they don’t tell the grief on the mother’s face. Her visage sticks in my mind as the one image of that day. The joy at the support and the grief of losing her daughter. Unimaginable.

The internet made this event happen ? from letting everyone know about it to riders in other towns holding their own memorial rides. It let me share the photos I took with everyone else in an instant ? I know because they let me know how much it meant to them to see those photos. The family let me know how much it meant to them and that made what ever I’ve been experiencing that much more profound.

--
Craig Gaevert

Craig has posted photos from the Cecy Krone Memorial Ride at http://www.tlcd.com/KMR/

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Crash Details:

Cici was struck by a drunk driving a Jeep Cherokee last Saturday morning at about 9:30 a.m. Cici was riding with a group of local hot shot riders on a regular "pick up" ride that begins each Saturday at the San Anselmo Coffee Roasters. Because she couldn't climb as fast as the young Cat I guys in the peloton, Cici had gone a bit early and climbed to the top of "Golf Course Hill" on Nicasio Valley Road. She pulled off the roadway and waited for the rest of the ride, which was less than a minute back.

Michele M. Young woke up that morning in Lagunitas, a few miles away, and began drinking heavily. At around 9:30 a.m. she loaded her ten year son, cat and some other supplies into her Jeep Cherokee and attempted to drive to Clear Lake, some 125 miles away. As she drove northbound on Nicasio Valley Road, she passed some cyclists climbing "Golf Course Hill" and honked furiously at them. When she reached a gentle right hand curve to the summit, she oversteered and rode her Cherokee up the rock embankment and proceeded, without braking or corrective steering, to scrape the rock wall all along the summit.

Cici, who was waiting off the roadway at the summit right next to the rock wall, never stood a chance. She was crushed by the unswerving, unimpeded Cherokee and dragged along for quite some way. After Cici's body freed itself from the Cherokee, Ms. Young continued on down the road for about 200 yards before regaining the ability to slow and stop her SUV.

Witnesses say that Ms. Young was too intoxicated to stand unaided and that she admitted that she'd been drinking since about 7:00 a.m. Witnesses also say that Cici was virtually unrecognizable. Her body was mangled and her face was a bloody, swollen mess. One of the riders was an Emergency Room Nurse and immediately cleared Cici's airway and began CPR.

Cici was alive, but just barely. The only merciful aspect of her condition is that she showed no signs of consciousness, her one eye that was not swollen shut did not show responsiveness to light. Thus, she couldn't feel the pain. She was airlifted to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek and died that afternoon.

Witnesses report that Cici's bike was totally demolished, spraying the area with pieces of chainrings and pieces of the titanium frame tubes. The impact must have been quite severe.

Ms. Young failed a field sobriety test and was taken into custody at the scene. She is set to be arraigned at the Marin Civic Center at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Ironically, another of the riders was a phlebotomist, on call that weekend for the Marin County Sheriff's Office, and was paged to come to the jail to take Ms. Young's blood sample for testing. Imagine the discomfort Ms. Young must have felt as she saw that the man with the needle was wearing sweaty Lycra bike clothing under his white coat!

First Report on Sunday:

By Oren Noah

A friend, wonderful person and great cyclist was struck, mangled, dragged and killed by a drunk SUV driver yesterday. Cici Krone was an active member of Marin Cyclists and was a supporter of safer roads for cyclists. She was killed by a drunk SUV driver while on a Marin Cyclists ride Saturday morning. It really makes you wonder how a driver can be drunk at 9:30 in the morning.

A memorial ride is being planned and Cici's friends and the Marin Cyclists hope that there will be an impressive turnout. I'll alert the club as soon as the details are known.

Here's the article from the Marin Independent Journal:

Bicyclist killed; driver held on DUI charges
By Lucy Maher

A San Anselmo bicyclist was killed yesterday morning after she was hit by a motorist who was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, the California Highway Patrol said.

Cecilia "Cecy" Krone, 42, was going north on Nicasio Valley Road at 9:40 a.m. with a group of riders when she was struck by a 1983 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, driven by Michelle M. Young of Lagunitas, the CHP said.

The Jeep veered over the shoulder and struck Krone, CHP Officer Marcus Barth-olomew said. The bike was shattered, and Krone was left with fatal injuries.

"She (Young) hit the bike and pinned the cyclist up against a rock embankment," said Bartholomew. "Then, after the car struck the bike and basically crushed the bike into the rock, the car dragged the bike and cyclist several feet along the shoulder."

Krone was flown by helicopter to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek, where she died shortly after 3 p.m.

Bartholomew said Young failed a field sobriety test and was arrested. A 10-year-old boy driving with Young was not injured and was taken by Marin sheriff's deputies to relatives.

Young was booked at Marin County Jail on suspicion of felony driving while under the influence of alcohol, felony gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and felony child endangerment. Her bail was set at $300,000. She is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.

Bicyclists riding with Krone said she was conscious after being hit and appeared in great pain.

"We all just kind of stopped and thought, it couldn't possibly be this bad," Eric Harr, 28, of Fairfax, said. "We all just stood there in a circle around her. We were like children. There was nothing we could do."

Krone worked as an occupational therapist, most recently with children who had motor skill problems, said Fred Lengyel, sports information director and assistant athletic director at Dominican College. Lengyel regularly rode with Krone.

"She was feisty, but she was also very, very sweet to everybody," he said.

Krone's parents, who live in Southern California, traveled to the Bay Area last night after hearing of the accident.