Woman Accused of Manslaughter Has Court Date Delayed

The Monday court appearance for a Parsippany woman accused of being drunk and under the influence of cocaine when she killed an East Hanover man with her car last May has been moved to Oct. 1, according to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

Vanessa Brown, 32, has pled not guilty to charges of aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide in the killing of Ralph Politi Jr., an East Hanover business owner and community leader.

The woman is being held in the Morris County Correctional Facility in lieu of $400,000 bail. 

If found guilty on both charges, Brown could receive a 40-year sentence.

Newark-based attorney Gerald Saluti, who represents Brown, told Patch that the court date will amount to a status conference, in which the presiding judge will note the progress of the case.

"We've reviewed the evidence going through all the discovery, which was significant," he said. "We're still not done with that process. I'll let the judge know where we are with regard to finishing our review and our own witness interviews."

On May 5, Brown struck Politi with her car as he stood outside of his East Hanover business, All Jersey Garage Door at 30 Ridgedale Ave.

Brown told police that Politi had moved in front of her car, but Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said video surveillance showed that a reportedly inebriated Brown moved from the right lane and veered left until smashing into Politi. Her car reportedly kept moving until it slammed into nearby parked cars.

At Brown's last appearance in court, Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Kelley Lavery presented findings from blood samples from Brown indicating that she had ingested cocaine the day of the accident. 

The Oct. 1 status conference will take place at the Morris County Courthouse in Morristown.