No criminal charges in death of Alderson's father
The driver who struck and killed John Alderson Saturday night will not face criminal charges, according to St. Petersburg, Fla., police. The 87-year-old father of Mets general manager Sandy Alderson was fatally injured crossing the street and the driver, Jeffrey Lachance, 21, told police he did not see him.
"There was no indication that the driver was impaired or under the influence of alcohol or drugs," St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Proffitt said Wednesday. "The case is still under investigation and he could receive a traffic citation."
According to the police report, Alderson was crossing Fourth Street, a multilane, two-way road, when he was struck by Lachance's Jeep at 11:54 p.m. Saturday. Alderson was pronounced dead 12:45 Sunday morning at Bayfront Medical Center.
Alderson, in a statement, described his father, a retired Air Force pilot, as "healthy and vibrant." Alderson's dad was a veteran of three wars, serving in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The tragic event happened only two weeks after Alderson, 62, was named Mets GM.
Alderson was scheduled to be in Orlando, Fla., this week for the GM meetings and has commuted between there and St. Petersburg in the aftermath of his father's death. Alderson honored a commitment to interview Jose Oquendo on Monday - the 10th and final candidate for the manager's job - then worked with his front-office staff to trim that group to four finalists by Tuesday night. They are Bob Melvin, Terry Collins, Chip Hale and Wally Backman.
The Mets expect to finish the second round of interviews by Thursday night and plan to announce the team's next manager by Thanksgiving, with the possibility of a news conference at Citi Field earlier that week.
