Crime & Safety

Alleged Drunk Driver Now Faces Manslaughter

Parsippany resident charged with first-degree aggravated manslaughter, bail increased.

A Parsippany woman who was before crashing into parked cars over the weekend now faces a first-degree aggravated manslaughter charge, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said Monday.

Vanessa E. Brown, 32, had been charged on Sunday with second-degree vehicular homicide, driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, careless driving, failure to maintain her lane, driving with unsafe tires and driving an unregistered vehicle.

Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi has replaced the vehicular homicide charge with first-degree aggravated manslaughter, which carries up to a 30-year sentence, according to Capt. Jeffrey Paul, a spokesman for Bianchi.

Find out what's happening in Parsippanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Based upon the available investigative information as well as a thorough legal analysis by my staff, I have made the decision to file upgraded charges that I believe are appropriate based upon our laws," Bianchi said in a statement Monday afternoon.

Paul said the prosecutor's office had no further comment on the upgraded charges.

Find out what's happening in Parsippanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Brown's bail has been increased from $100,000 to $400,000 with no 10 percent option. Brown remains lodged at the Morris County Correctional Facility in lieu of bail. She is due in court Tuesday, Paul said.

Brown is accused of killing Ralph Politi Jr. near his auto repair shop at 30 Ridgedale Ave. in East Hanover Saturday at about 1:50 p.m., the prosecutor's office said.

Politi, 49, was standing by the driver's-side door of his pickup truck, which was parked in a space parallel to the roadway, when he was struck, the prosecutor's office said.

Brown's vehicle left the roadway, struck Politi and continued another approximately 60 feet and crashed into several parked cars in a nearby lot, the prosecutor's office said.

There were no other occupants in Brown's vehicle, the prosecutor's office said.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.