Texting-and-driving trial: Driver's head was 'straight down' when she crashed into car
Kathleen HopkinsFREEHOLD - The motorist accused in what is believed to be New Jersey's first texting-while-driving vehicular homicide trial had her head "straight down" as her Mercedes Benz crashed into the rear of a car that was propelled into a pedestrian in a crosswalk, an eyewitness testified Friday.
Marilyn Dinunzio of Hazlet told a jury she had headed out for a walk along the Henry Hudson Trail in Hazlet the morning of Sept. 28, 2016 when she saw a woman in the crosswalk on Laurel Avenue leading to the trail.
Texting-and-driving trial:Driver read text minute before fatal crash, detective says
"I saw the red car stop to let her cross," Dinunzio said.
But then, Dinunzio said she turned and saw a black Mercedes Benz passing her and crashing into the back of the red car, pushing that car into the pedestrian.
"Her body was airborne in front of me," Dinunzio said of the pedestrian, adding that the victim's head hit the pavement when she landed.
"As I looked into the car, I saw the person's head down," Dinunzio said of the driver of the Mercedes. Christopher Decker, assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, questioned the witness further about her observations of the head of the person driving the Mercedes.
"It was down," Dinunzio said. "Straight down."
Texting-and-driving trial:Victim's head hit the ground 'like a basketball'
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The driver of the Mercedes Benz, Alexandra Mansonet, 50, of Keansburg, is charged with vehicular homicide in what is believed to be the first texting-and-driving vehicular homicide trial in the state.
Mansonet's attorney, Steven D. Altman, told the jury that Mansonet wasn't texting, but instead was trying to adjust the rear defogger on her car when the crash occurred.
The victim, Yuwen Wang, 39, of Hazlet, was taking a walk, on a break from her job at the nearby International Flavors and Fragrances factory, when she was struck by the red Toyota Corolla driven by Robert Matich of Keansburg.
Wang suffered severe head injuries and was comatose. She died five days later at Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Center in New Brunswick.
On Thursday, Hazlet Detective Ryan McAndrews testified that a minute before the crash, Mansonet received a text message from her former sister-in-law inquiring about dinner plans. The text message, said "Mexican, American, Cuban. You pick,'' McAndrews testified. He said the message had been read, and two letters, M and E, were typed in response, but the response wasn't sent, he said.
On the witness stand for the second straight day on Friday, McAndrews, facing cross-examination from Altman, said he couldn't say when those two letters were typed.
Altman suggested his client could have read the text message about the dinner plans when she was still at her house on Maplewood Avenue, about a mile away from the crash site.
"The distance between Maplewood and Laurel Avenue is less than 60 seconds away," Altman said.
"Without traffic," the detective responded.
Questioned by Decker, McAndrews said Mansonet did type and send a text message about 10 minutes after the crash, to her husband to tell him she had been in a car accident on Laurel Avenue.
Another prosecution witness, Agent Reginald Grant of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, who is an expert in accident investigation and reconstruction, testified Friday that Mansonet's car was traveling at 34.1 mph, just under the 35 mph speed limit, when it crashed into the Toyota. Grant testified that the Toyota had gradually slowed to a stop, and its brake lights were on when the crash occurred.
Grant told the jury the Mercedes left no skid marks before crashing into the Toyota.
The state rested its case after Grant's testimony. The defense is expected to begin its case on Monday.
Mansonet is on trial before Superior Court Judge David F. Bauman.
If she is convicted of vehicular homicide, she would face five to 10 years in state prison.
Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues, unsolved mysteries and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com; 732-643-4202.