By Caroline Jumpertz
DNAinfo News Editor
MIDTOWN —The man who allegedly crashed his Lexus into a cycling food deliveryman had his bail set at $50,000 over the weekend.
Clark Gettinger, 40, a Midtown resident who is listed as a former client of Bernard Madoff, was arraigned on Saturday Jan. 29 on six charges, including drunk driving, at the Manhattan Criminal Court.
Gettinger was charged with one count each of assault in the second degree, vehicular assault in the second degree, leaving the scene of an accident, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, reckless driving and operating a motor vehicle while impaired.
The victim, a 28-year-old bicyclist, was travelling north on Eighth Avenue, between West 47th and 48th Streets, when he was hit from behind by a 2001 Lexus and then thrown underneath a parked BMW, the NYPD said.
According to the complaint, the arresting officer caught up with the alleged driver three blocks north of the accident, and found the car to have a shattered front passenger windshield. Further, it alleges that the driver of the Lexus had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, was unsteady on his feet, had a flushed face and was operating the vehicle in an unsteady and reckless manner.
A portable breath test was administered at the scene at 11:03 p.m. and Gettinger allegedly measured a blood alcohol level of 0.17.
Gettinger apparently refused an intoxylizer test when he was taken back to the precinct.
According to the complaint, an employee of Bellevue Hospital Center has informed the arresting police officer that the bicyclist is likely to die.
