Judge Cornelius Moriarty ruled before the trial began that there would be no mention of the fact that Alicia Rodrigues was killed hours after the alleged alcohol purchase.
Michelle Zygarowski, of Ludlow, listens during her trial in Hampden Superior Court Tuesday. She is charged with provided alcohol to three minors, including her seventeen-year-old daughter, Alicia Rodrigues, who was killed in an October 2009 car crash which allegedly was caused by underage drinking.SPRINGFIELD – Two young men testified on Tuesday in Hampden Superior Court that Michelle Zygarowski went into a liquor store in Indian Orchard on Oct. 1, 2009, and bought a bottle of Bacardi rum for them and her daughter.
Zygarowski, 43, of Ludlow, is on trial on three counts of providing liquor to a person under 21 years old.
She is charged with purchasing a 750 milliliter size bottle of the rum for the two young men, Michael Demaio and Corey Harrington, and her daughter, Alicia Rodrigues, who was then 17 years old.
According to the young men they drove Zygarowski to the store, gave her money, and she went into the store to purchase the rum while they and her daughter waited in the car.
What the Hampden Superior Court jury did not hear that Rodrigues was killed hours after the alleged alcohol purchase in a fatal accident on Allen Street near Sumner Avenue.
Rodrigues was a passenger in a car driven by Jake Trombley, 18, of Springfield, who faces a charge of vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol and negligent operation in a separate case. Rodrigues, who was not wearing a seat belt, was pinned underneath the car when Trombley lost control, struck a light pole and flipped the car onto its roof. Demaio and Harrington were also passengers but uninjured in the crash.
Judge Cornelius J. Moriarty ruled before Zygarowski’s trial began Tuesday that there would be no mention of the fact that Rodrigues is dead. He said that the crash is not relevant to this case and mention of it would be prejudicial to Zygarowski.
In fact, one juror was dismissed after she told the judge that she recognized Rodrigues’ name, knew she had died in the crash, and didn’t believe she could be impartial during the trial.
Assistant District Attorney James M. Forsyth said that the fatality did not need to be mentioned because Zygarowski is being tried for the act of purchasing the liquor for minors. She is not charged with purchasing liquor for Trombley and he was not present when the alleged purchase happened.
Defense lawyer Edward C. Bryant Jr. had argued to Moriarty that it would be impossible for him to cross-examine witnesses if the fatal accident could not be mentioned.
He also said that he expected jurors would wonder why there had been such an extensive investigation, including state police, into whether Zygarowski had purchased liquor for her daughter and the two young men.
Harrington, 19, did refer to a car accident on the stand. In response to a question from Bryant about what he told a police sergeant that night, Harrington said he “was not in my right mind after the car accident.”
Harrington and Demaio testified that after Zygarowski bought the rum for the three teens they dropped her off at home and went to Harrington’s house with the bottle where they were joined by Trombley. The crash happened in the early morning hours of Oct. 2 after the four left Harrington’s house in his car with Trombley driving.
The trial is scheduled to resume on Wednesday.