Sharelle Anderson
Sharelle Anderson was allowed to see her deceased sister Thursday morning before being transported to court where a judge reduced her bail, stating that it was excessive considering the facts surrounding the case.
“I think $500,000 bail is excessive; it doesn't represent what this case is about,” Mercer County Superior Court Judge Pedro Jimenez said at a bail hearing Thursday. “But this is a very serious offense and she has to be held accountable.”
Anderson, 37, is charged with death by auto, driving while intoxicated and other motor vehicle offenses in connection with the death of her 34-year-old sister, Tina Anderson, who died September 24 after the SUV they occupied flipped several times as it crossed the Southard Street bridge.
Tina’s funeral was scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday, according to her obituary, and prosecutors allowed Sharelle to see her sister hours before the burial. Sharelle appeared for the bail hearing via video and wiped tears from her eyes as attorneys sparred about whether to release her from jail.
Prosecutors said Sharelle told police that she and her sister had been drinking alcohol in front of her house prior to the crash, and that the two of them were about to “go out for the night.”
Sharelle’s birthday is September 23; the fatal crash happened around 11:59 p.m. that night.
Prosecutors say police who spoke with Sharelle after the crash documented that her “eyes were bloodshot and droopy,” that her “movements were slow,” and that “alcohol was on her breath.”
Tina Anderson (contributed photo)
Police say Sharelle was driving northbound on Southard Street when she tried to pass a vehicle near the crest of the Southard Street bridge and lost control of the SUV, which then hit the curb and rolled several times. Tina was ejected from the vehicle; she was pronounced dead at the hospital about an hour and a half after the crash.
Sharelle’s defense attorney Anthony Cowell asked the judge to grant her an “own recognizance” bail, citing that she has no criminal record, steady employment and children to support.
“This young woman is not a flight risk and she has lifelong ties to the city,” Cowell said. “I think the humane thing to do is to release her. It's almost too much to bear that she lost her sister and now is facing vehicular homicide charges. When she was interviewed (by police), she was distraught to the point of almost being comatose. In a very large way, she has paid and is paying for what happened.”
Prosecutors, though, argued that releasing her “would not send any kind of message.”
“We have to separate ourselves from the sympathetic aspects of the case,” Assistant Prosecutor Skylar Weissman said. “Hypothetically, what if the decedent was not her sister and was a neighbor? The bottom line is that you're responsible for your actions. This woman drank, then made a conscious decision to get behind the wheel. Her actions were reckless; she could’ve killed someone who wasn't her sister.”
A memorial for Tina Anderson, who was killed in a motor vehicle crash, is seen on Walnut Avenue. Thursday Sept. 24, 2015. (JACKIE SCHEAR—THE TRENTONIAN)
Judge Jimenez responded, “I don't want to set bail to send a message. We have to account for the nature of the offense.”
Weissman then asked for a sidebar conference to further discuss the matter, and after a nine-minute off-the-record conversation that included Cowell, Jimenez decided to reduce Sharelle’s bail to $50,000 cash or bond.
“Every time she touches a drink now, she’s going to think about her sister,” Jimenez said. “I can't imagine that she will ever touch alcohol again.”
At the time of the crash, prosecutors say, Sharelle’s driver’s license was suspended. Jimenez said her bail could be revoked and significantly increased if she posts bail and is found driving without a license.