Triathlete injured in crash attends arraignment of Tantalus drift racer

A drift racer accused of causing severe injuries to a triathlete in a January crash in Tantalus appeared at his arraignment in Circuit Court today.

Taylor Liang stood before Judge Clarence Pacarro on a felony negligent injury charge in connection with the January crash on Tantalus Drive involving Lectie Altman.

Deputy Public Defender Doris Lum entered a not guilty plea to charge.

Pacarro set his trial for December. Liang remains free after posting $25,000 bail.

Altman, 34, sat in the courtroom gallery with family and friends during the arraignment.

After the hearing, Altman said, “I think it was just important for me to be here because this, I mean this happened nine months ago and it’s been a long time coming. And I think it was important for him to see that there is a lot of people that care about this case and what happened. I know it was just the arraignment and plea but the fact that there was all this support from friends and family here was really good.”

The crash occurred during the afternoon hours on Jan. 25 on Tantalus Drive.

Police said the driver was “drifting” and racing up the roadway when he lost control, veered onto the opposite side of the roadway and struck Altman who was riding her bicycle.

Altman was severely injured in the crash. She was hospitalized for a month and underwent numerous surgeries and is slated to undergo more surgeries.

Altman has two plates in her left arm due to a fracture, a plate in her thumb, broken fingers, a plate in her left hip, a partially broken pelvis and a broken right femur.

“It’s nine months later and I’m still not walking without crutches. I have IV antibiotics that I have to give myself every single day so it’s been a huge impact on my life,” she said today.