Biker faces homicide charge in NY crash that killed rapper

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ELMSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — A motorcyclist accused of riding recklessly on a suburban New York highway and causing a wreck that killed a rapper thrown off another bike has been charged with criminally negligent homicide.

Clifford Perkins pleaded not guilty Thursday.

The wreck last May killed Scott Phillips, known professionally as DJ Father Shaheed. Phillips was a member of Poor Righteous Teachers, a New Jersey-based rap trio that made several albums in the 1990s.

State police and the Westchester County district attorney's office say Perkins clipped a car on the Sprain Brook Parkway. The car spun out of control, veered into another lane and collided with Phillips' motorcycle.

Defense lawyer James Bell calls the crash "a very tragic accident."

Perkins was injured and hospitalized for a month.