A Monmouth County grand jury returned a one-count indictment today charging a Keansburg woman with Vehicular Homicide in connection with the 2016 collision which took the life of 39-year-old Yuwen Wang on Laurel Avenue in Hazlet Township, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Police have charged Alexandra Mansonet, 48, of Keansburg, with second degree Vehicular Homicide. Mansonet faces a maximum potential custodial sentence of up to 10 years in a New Jersey state prison, subject to the provisions of the No Early Release Act (NERA) requiring her to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole.
The charges stem from a collision which occurred at approximately 8:20 a.m. on September 28, 2016 at the intersection of Laurel Avenue and Sixth Street in Hazlet. The initial collision involved a 2000 Mercedes Benz, operated by Mansonet and a 2011 Toyota Corolla, operated by Robert Matich, 70, of Keansburg. Matich’s son was a passenger in the vehicle. Matich’s vehicle was proceeding south on Laurel Avenue approaching the intersection with Sixth Street when he observed pedestrians looking to cross Laurel Avenue at the marked crosswalk.
In compliance with motor vehicle law that requires a driver to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, Matich slowed his vehicle a significant distance prior to the intersection to allow the pedestrians to cross. As Matich brought his vehicle to a controlled stop, Mansonet’s vehicle collided with the rear of his vehicle, which was propelled forward, striking the victim.
Wang was transported by helicopter to Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Center’s Trauma Unit in New Brunswick, where she died on October 3, 2016.
An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART) and Hazlet Police Department determined Mansonet was using her cellular telephone while driving and made no observations of Matich’s vehicle.
Accordingly, Mansonet never activated her brakes and collided with the vehicle, causing it to cast forward and strike the victim.
Although Mansonet remains free pending the resolution of charges, she is scheduled to be arraigned on this indictment on December 4, 2017 before Superior Court Presiding Criminal Judge David A. Bauman.
The case was prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher J. Decker, Director of the Office’s Major Crimes Bureau.
Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.