NEW YORK, May 14 (UPI) -- Testimony by the widow of the late New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle has added emotion to a trial surrounding the 2006 small-plane crash that killed him.
Melanie Lidle told jurors in U.S. District Court in Manhattan Friday her late husband had been a "determined man" who accomplished whatever he set his mind.
Lidle and the widow of her husband's flying instructor, Stephanie Stanger, are suing Cirrus Design Corp., maker of the Cirrus SR-20 the two men were flying.
Lidle crashed into a New York City condominium because of what the two widows claim were technical issues with the aircraft.
Melanie Lidle, 37, told jurors the two met in high school and were married when Corey was a minor league pitcher for the Mets, the New York Daily News reported Friday.
Their 10-year-old son, she said, still idolizes his late father and has his dad's jersey displayed on the wall in his room, the newspaper reported.
Lidle earned his pilot's license in 2005, a year before the crash that killed him and Stanger. Attorneys suing the company say a steering lockup is responsible, while attorneys with Cirrus say pilot error was to blame.
