A state Superior Court judge has sentenced a 51-year-old Keansburg woman to five years in prison in connection with a 2016 collision which took the life of 39-year-old Yuwen Wang on Laurel Avenue in Hazlet, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.
Alexandra Mansonet, 51, of Keansburg, was sentenced to serve five years in state
prison by Judge David F. Bauman, sitting in Freehold, on Aug. 21.
Mansonet must serve 85% of the sentence before becoming eligible for release on parole. She will be on parole for three years once she is released, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
On Nov. 22, a trial jury returned a guilty verdict for second degree vehicular homicide following a three-week trial. Evidence presented at the trial revealed Mansonet was texting while driving at the time of the fatal crash, according to the press release.
The charges stem from a collision which occurred at 8:20 a.m. Sept. 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 of Keansburg.
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 a marked crosswalk.
In compliance with a New Jersey 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, according to the press release.
As Matich brought his vehicle to a controlled stop, Mansonet’s vehicle collided with the rear of his vehicle, which was propelled forward, striking Wang.
Wang was transported by helicopter to Robert Wood Johnson University Medical
Center’s Trauma Unit in New Brunswick, where she died on Oct. 3, 2016.
An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the Monmouth County
Serious Collision Analysis Response Team and the Hazlet Police Department
determined Mansonet was using her cellular telephone while driving and made no observations of Matich’s vehicle.
Mansonet never activated her brakes and collided with Matich’s vehicle, causing it to move forward and strike Wang, according to the press release.
After Mansonet was sentenced, Raymond M. Brown, one of the attorneys handling
her appeal, asked the court to grant Mansonet’s release on bail while her appeal is pending.
His request was opposed by the state and Bauman denied the motion.
Brown then asked Bauman to stay his order pending an emergent appeal of the denial of bail pending appeal.
The stay was granted, allowing Mansonet to file an emergent appeal to the Appellate Division on the issue.
Bauman released Mansonet, but ordered that she turn herself in on Aug. 25 by 3 p.m. to begin serving her sentence unless the Appellate Division reverses his ruling and grants bail pending appeal, according to the press release.
