Trial under way for woman charged with aggravated vehicular homicide

YOUNGSTOWN — An impatient Tasha L. Moore recklessly went left of center around stopped vehicles at a motorcycle accident scene and ran over the motorcyclist lying on the pavement, dragging him 60 feet before witnesses got her to stop, all while talking on her cellular phone, a prosecutor said.

However, Moore’s lawyer told jurors they need to consider a variety of factors in the crash that killed the motorcyclist, including the dark, poorly lit street, the previous impact from another vehicle that threw the motorcyclist 20 feet to the pavement, and the motorcyclist’s intoxicated state.

Robert J. Andrews, an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor, and Walter Madison, Moore’s lawyer, made their comments today in their opening statements in Moore’s aggravated vehicular homicide trial before Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of common pleas court.

The nine-woman, three-man jury heard opening statements after returning from a visit to the location of the 6:30 p.m. March 2, 2010, crash that killed Charles T. Mulligan at the scene in the 3500 block of South Avenue.

Moore, 29, of Jackson Street, Campbell, who Andrews said drove a car without a valid driver’s license, faces a possible two-to-eight-year prison term if she’s convicted in the criminal trial.

For the complete story, read Wednesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com