Trial set for driver charged in East Hanover man's death

A trial date of Feb. 8 has been set for a woman who is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and cocaine and killing East Hanover community leader Ralph Politi Jr. in 2012.

The trial date for Vanessa E. Brown, 35, was set last week by Superior Court Judge William McGovern in Morristown during a conference with Morris County Assistant Prosecutor John McNamara Jr. and Brown's fifth lawyer, Edward Bilinkas.

All outstanding pretrial issues have been resolved, including the prosecutor's anticipated use at trial of a portion of a surveillance videotape that shows Brown's Toyota Camry traveling south on Ridgedale Avenue in East Hanover and driving off the road.  The videotape will be stopped at the point the car impacts Politi, 49, Bilinkas said.

Last week, Brown again rejected the state's plea offer of 20 years in state prison in exchange for a guilty plea to aggravated manslaughter.  Brown would have to serve 85 percent of the 20 years before parole consideration if she elects to take the plea offer. Aggravated manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

When struck around 1:50 p.m. on May 5, 2012, the victim was standing by the driver-side door of his pickup truck, which was parked in a space parallel to the road. Authorities have said that Brown's vehicle, after striking Politi, traveled in the parking lot about 60 feet before hitting several other parked cars.

The jury can be told that Brown previously was convicted of driving while intoxicated after a non-fatal crash in Tinton Falls, Monmouth County, on Jan. 12, 2009. At the time of the East Hanover crash in 2012, she allegedly had a blood-alcohol content of 0.133 percent, which is above the 0.08 percent level at which a motorist is considered legally intoxicated in New Jersey.

Tests done after the crash also showed the presence of cocaethylene, a chemical that forms in the liver when alcohol and cocaine are used simultaneously, in Brown's body, authorities said.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.