Nov. 23 (UPI) — A New Jersey woman was convicted of vehicular homicide and sentenced to five to 10 years in prison Friday in the death of a pedestrian prosecutors said happened because the driver was texting.
In September 2016, Alexandra Mansonet, 50, rear-ended another car that struck Yuwen Wang, 39, as she was crossing a street in Hazlet, N.J. Wang died five days after she was struck.
Officials in Monmouth County, N.J. said Mansonet was “using her cellular telephone while driving and made no observations” of the vehicle in front of her, and failed to hit her brakes in time to avoid a collision.
“This is a tragedy in every respect. Texting while driving puts drivers and pedestrians in grave danger and we are hopeful that the jury’s verdict will reinforce the public’s awareness of this risk,” Monmouth County prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said in a statement.
