Justice before forgiveness for cyclist's widow

Kayte Steinert-Threlkeld, of Weston, wife whose husband Thomas, was killed while riding his bike, speaks to the press after the arraignment of Alexander Lee, 21, in superior court in Danbury, Conn, on Wednesday , December 4, 2013. Lee was arraigned on charges he fled the scene after bicyclist Thomas Steinert-Threlkeld hit his car on Route 302 in Bethel earlier this year. less Kayte Steinert-Threlkeld, of Weston, wife whose husband Thomas, was killed while riding his bike, speaks to the press after the arraignment of Alexander Lee, 21, in superior court in Danbury, Conn, on Wednesday ... more Photo: H John Voorhees III Photo: H John Voorhees III Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Justice before forgiveness for cyclist's widow 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

DANBURY -- A slight figure wrapped in a baggy, hooded sweatshirt over a slightly oversized thermal T-shirt, the man accused of fleeing the scene of a crash in Bethel that killed a bicyclist from Weston earlier this year looked more like a "child" when the victim's widow saw him in court Wednesday.

"My heart breaks. He's a child who has made serious mistakes in recent years that will affect him for the rest of his life," said Kayte Steinert-Threlkeld, whose husband Tom, 59, died in a crash involving two vehicles as he rode his bicycle along Route 302 in Bethel.

"That said, I want justice for Tom," she added.

Bethel police on Tuesday arrested Alexander Lee, 21, of New Milford, on charges including evading responsibility for a fatal accident, making an improper left turn and tampering with evidence stemming from the incident at Route 302 and Old Hawleyville Road the afternoon of Oct. 20.

Steinert-Threlkeld, an avid cyclist who logged 160,000 miles over 20 years, was riding west on Route 302 that day. As he approached the intersection with Old Hawleyville Road a sedan traveling east on the road made a left turn in front of him, causing him to hit the car and fall from his bicycle, police said.

A second car coming from Old Hawleyville Road turned onto Route 302 and hit Steinert-Threlkeld as he lay in the road.

But while the driver of the second car stopped at the scene, Lee took off, ultimately avoiding detection for weeks, police said.

Meanwhile, Steinert-Threlkeld had become trapped beneath the second vehicle. He was later pronounced dead at Danbury Hospital of injuries sustained in the crash.

After weeks of what Kayte Steinert-Threlkeld called a "meticulous" investigation by the Bethel Police Department, Lee appeared in Superior Court on Wednesday before Judge Andrew Roraback, who ordered him held on $150,000 bond and continued the case to Dec. 11.

For Steinert-Threlkeld, who plans to attend every one of Lee's court appearances, it will be just the next bend in a long trek through the state's legal system.

"This isn't closure. This is just an opening," she said.

For her late husband, the day that sparked that journey was just another typical Sunday spent pedalling up the rolling hills and stopping to snap photos of the changing leaves.

But for Lee, police said, the decision to put his foot to the gas pedal and leave Steinert-Threlkeld in his rearview mirror sparked the third in a series of increasingly serious arrests.

The first came in January 2012, when Bethel police officers charged him with failing to obey a stop sign, use of drug paraphernalia and possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, a felony. He was later granted accelerated rehabilitation in the case.

His next arrest came just over a week after the crash, when Bethel police executed a search warrant on his vehicle that led to charges including two felonies -- possession of narcotics and possession with intent to sell -- among lesser charges. That case remains pending.

All three cases will be addressed during his court appearance on Dec. 11.

Her husband a passionate cyclist who had twice broken his collar bone in bike accidents, Steinert-Threlkeld figured he had simply hurt himself when she was notified of the crash.

"I assumed that's what this was when I got the call," she said.

She has spent the last two months coming to grips with what she learned on that call and still can only "look forward to the day that I will not cry like this again," she said Wednesday at the courthouse.

But with the support of friends and family who refuse to let her pass a weekend night alone, she and her 23- and 27-year-old sons have begun to heal, even using 90 minutes of their Thanksgiving holiday to take a spin class in memory of Tom.

"We thought more than anything he'd be happy to see us on bicycles," she said.

Still, grief and a desire for justice sits between her and forgiveness for Lee.

"Forgiveness is supposed to be the greatest good and I get that -- but I am not there yet," she said as tears came to her eyes outside the courthouse. "Maybe in time that will come, but not now."

domalley@newstimes.com, @domalleynt, 203-731-3350