Video Of MS-13 Opponent Evelyn Rodriguez Being Run Over By SUV Played At Murder Trial
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - Jurors viewed the unsettling video of anti-gang activist Evelyn Rodriguez being run over as part of a murder trial going into its second day on Long Island.
A stunned courtroom needed an emotional break and the defendant on trial, Annmarie Drago, appeared unable to watch as the graphic heart-stopping video was introduced into evidence, reports CBS2's Jennifer McLogan.
The deadly Brentwood encounter was caught on a News12 camera, showing Drago behind the wheel.
"The extreme physical and verbal attack that Drago was experiencing inside the car," said Stephen Kunken, Drago's defense attorney.
Rodriguez, of Brentwood, was a national symbol in the fight against gangs after the murder of her daughter Kayla Cuevas at the hands of MS-13.
The parents of Kayla Cueves became enraged when Drago dismantled a memorial for their daughter, hours before a vigil was to begin marking two years since she and her high school classmate were murdered.
"Terrible language that (father) Freddy was yelling at her, screaming at her and ordering her out of car," said Kunken. "She was terrified."
CBS2 will not show the sport-utility vehicle crushing Evelyn Rodriguez's body.
"She does not step on the gas," said Kinken. "She does not gun the engine, she moves the car slowly."
A 911 call between a witness and dispatchers was played to jurors, describing the scene and Rodriguez left bleeding from her head. Freddy Cuevas could be heard on the tape yelling "My Evelyn, oh Evelyn, oh my God, oh Lord."
Her attorney contends this was a tragic accident in which Drago panicked when confronted, didn't see Evelyn and had no criminal state of mind to commit a homicide.