Christine Ko Lawyer Gets Time to File Motion in Fort Lee Death by Auto
HACKENSACK, N.J. (March 13, 2017) — The attorney for a Ewing Township woman charged with the drunk driving killing Ruben Enukashvili of Fort Lee got an extension to review expert medical reports she plans to use in her client’s defense.
Defense attorney Wanda Akin of Newark told Presiding Judge Susan J. Steele Monday she needed two weeks’ time to write a motion based on the reports she just received Sunday from a psychology expert. She apologized, saying they were held up waiting for reports on prior hospitalizations of her client, Christine Ko, 23. Akin’s previous motion was denied in December, and she is moving for reconsideration based on the new medical evidence.
Presiding Judge Susan J. Steele said she wouldn’t give a lengthy delay, because “The denial was December 7, and here we are in March.
“This needs to move forward,” Steele said. “I can’t continue to carry it indefinitely.” Steele set March 24 at 9 a.m. for Ko’s next court date. Akin said she would file her submission within two weeks, and Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Martin Delaney told Steele he doesn’t need much time to respond.
“It’s highly unlikely there is going to be any additional information that is going to change my mind,” Delaney said. “I’m willing to consider anything, but I only need a week or so.”
Steele said a plea cutoff is appropriate at this stage of the case, and told Akin to be in court by 9 a.m.
“We are always waiting for you,” Steele said. “I understand you have other responsibilities, but this is a critical case.”
Ko is charged with the death by auto of Enukashvili, 86. He was crossing Lemoine Avenue near Whiteman Street a little before 9 p.m. Sunday, May 29 when he was fatally struck by Ko’s 2011 Hyundai Sonata. He was taken to Hackensack Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Ko, a liquor store clerk in Fort Lee, was arrested and charged with reckless driving, driving under the influence, and operating a motor vehicle with an open container of alcohol in her possession. She was subsequently indicted for death by auto, the charge she is facing now.
She is free on $150,000 bail pending trial and due back in court March 24 to update Steele on the results of her appeal and any new developments in the case.
