MORRIS COUNTY

Trial starts Wednesday on East Hanover DWI fatal

Peggy Wright
@PeggyWrightDR

Opening statements are slated to be held Wednesday morning in Morristown in the trial of a Parsippany woman who is charged with driving while intoxicated, veering off Ridgedale Avenue in East Hanover and killing East Hanover community leader Ralph Politi in 2012.

Jury selection that started Feb. 9 before Superior Court Judge Salem Vincent Ahto finished Tuesday, with a jury of 11 women and three men empaneled. Two of the 14 jurors will be selected as alternates when deliberations start.

Vanessa E. Brown, now 35, is charged with the aggravated manslaughter of Politi, 49, who died on May 5, 2012, shortly after Brown's Toyota Camry left the roadway around 1:48 p.m. and struck Politi as he loaded or unloaded items from his truck in a parking lot that runs parallel to the road. Upon conviction, aggravated manslaughter is punishable by 10 to 30 years in prison.

From left, accused drunken driver Vanessa Brown, defense lawyer Edward Bilinkas, Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Brian Kenney and Assistant Prosecutor John McNamara Jr.

Brown is accused of being intoxicated at the time, with a 0.133 percent blood alcohol level recorded after the crash, or more than the 0.08 percent at which a motorist is considered legally intoxicated in New Jersey.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor John McNamara Jr. told the judge he expects to call multiple witnesses after opening statements, including the Morris County Medical Examiner.

At prior court appearances, defense lawyer Edward Bilinkas has told the judge he expects to argue that a "hazardous' design of Ridgedale Avenue, not intoxication, caused the crash. McNamara has said he will object strenuously to any suggestion by the defense that Politi was in the road or contributed to his death.

The jury will be allowed to hear that Brown has a prior conviction for DWI in Tinton Falls.

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