Mike Wang’s widow seeks sentencing suggestions for hit-and-run driver who killed her husband

Claire Allen, the widow of Mike Wang, is asking for community letters to send to the court where Erlin Garcia-Reyes, the man who pleaded guilty to the hit-and-run that killed Allen’s husband, will be sentenced next month. Wang was an esteemed PATH photographer who biked to work from Shoreline to South Lake Union every day and was killed Thursday, July 28, 2011, when he was struck by a SUV on Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street. Garcia-Reyes is scheduled to be sentenced on August 10, and prosecutors will recommend the maximum sentence of 41 months. Allen reached out to Tom Fucoloro of Seattle Bike Blog asking people who bike to write letters to the judge with suggestions on how long Garcia-Reyes should be jailed and whether his driving privileges should be revoked. From Seattle Bike Blog:

Dear Tom, The man who killed Mike Wang last year on Dexter Avenue is being sentenced August 10. The King County Prosecutor’s Office has informed me that letters to the judge expressing opinions about how he ought to be sentenced are being collected from members of Michael’s community. They can address how long Mr Garcia-Reyes ought to be jailed and the issue of whether he ought to have his driving privileges taken away in case he is not deported upon his release. If any members of the Seattle biking community would like to express their opinions, they can send the letters to me at clairecuisine@yahoo.com by August 2, and I will forward them to the correct person in the prosecutor’s office by the deadline. This is a chance for citizens to influence sentencing for vehicular deaths of bicyclists in our city. Please post this in your blog. Yours, Claire Allen (widow of Michael Wang)