DWI Driver Convicted in Off-Duty Cop's Highway Death

Yesterday, a NJ volunteer firefighter was found guilty of fatally hitting an off-duty police officer. Robert Derian, who had a blood alcohol level of 0.12, had been driving his Jeep on the West Side Highwaywhen he hit 29-year-old Eric Concepcion.

Concepcion was on his motorcycle, and prosecutors said that road rage caused Derian to hit Concepcion's bike. Concepcion's body was dragged 3000 feet along the road in August 2006. Derian's lawyer said it was an accident and claimed the police exaggerated because the victim was a fellow cop. Derian faces up to 15 years in prison.

In a separate case of a drunk driver fatally hitting an off-duty cop who was riding a motorcycle, Kevin Casado began his 2-6 year prison sentence for vehicular manslaughter yesterday. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.18 when he crossed the double yellow line and plowed into Officer Alexander Felix last July in Inwood.

Felix, a 3-year NYPD veteran who had also been an auxiliary cop for years, had just spent the weekend painting his future baby's room. Casado told the court, "I am sorry from the bottom of my heart."