In the minutes after his car collided with a motorcyclist on Route 31 in Fairport, Frank Kuilman told police he was not driving drunk.
“I only had one wine cooler that was about two hours ago,” he said according to papers filed with the courts.
Then he qualified the statement with a question, “Wait, what time is it?”
It was 7:30 pm. According to the police report he was thick-tongued and slurred his speech. When asked to count backwards from 23 in a sobriety test he restarted several times then said he couldn’t do it.
13 Wham News has learned Kuilman should not have been driving at all. His license was suspended- because he was allegedly caught driving drunk just one month ago. We tried to talk to him outside of Perinton Town Court this Morning.
Reporter: “Mr. Kuilman do you have anything to say?” While walking in handcuffs with his legs shackled he shook his head no.
But court papers, including witness statements provided more details. According to a friend who was with him that night Kuilman had been drinking beer and perhaps Vodka.
The crash that followed killed 38 year old Ivan Furdey. He was riding his motorcycle along route 31 as Kuilman’s car pulled onto the road from a side street. “They’re going to have a difficult time proving he caused the accident,” says his attorney James Nobels.
At least one witness says the cyclist was changing lanes when he struck the turning car. “if they can’t prove he causes the motorcyclist’s death then he’s not guilty of vehicular manslaughter,” says attorney Nobels.
But the police report also suggests the witness may have a reason to be biased. He was Kuilman’s friend and a passenger in the car. Kuilman is being held on $25-thousand dollars bond. The case will go to a grand jury.
When confronted by police at the hospital seven hours after the crash Kuilman asked “How is the motorcyclist?” Ivan Furdey never made it home to his wife and two children.
