Torres, now 21, is a North Bergen High School graduate who currently lives in Fair Lawn. He is facing charges that he was traveling at a high rate of speed on West Side Avenue on June 20, 2005, when the Mercedes Benz he was driving that was owned by his uncle crashed into the rear end of a tractor trailer, killing the 18-year-old Verea, a passenger in the car, instantly.
Verea, the daughter of North Hudson Community Action Corporation medical director Dr. Jorge Verea, had just graduated from Cliffside Park High School and gotten into the car with Torres.
Torres has been charged with vehicular homicide in the accident. He also received summonses for reckless driving, but because there was no way to know how fast the vehicle was traveling, Torres was not cited for speeding.
Torres was initially also charged with driving under the influence, but those charges have since been dropped.
In the accident, the roof of the car was sheared off, killing Verea instantly and throwing Torres from the vehicle. He was severely injured and spent the next month in and out of a coma. He since has had to endure several surgeries and a lengthy rehabilitation.
Trial began
The trial began last week in the courtroom of Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale.
Peter Willis, one of the most prominent defense lawyers in Hudson County, is defending Torres in the case. In his opening statements last week, the Jersey City-based Willis said that the North Bergen police officer who did the initial accident investigation "assumed that my client was at fault simply because he was a teen-aged driver."
"The North Bergen police department's investigation was one-sided, misdirected, misguided and flawed," Willis said.
According to court reports, Willis stated that a witness told police that the truck changed lanes four times between 69th and 74th Street and West Side, where the impact took place. The truck then veered over the double lanes into the oncoming traffic before turning right, across the northbound lanes, causing Torres' vehicle to violently swerve away in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid impact.
Willis said that there were four witnesses to the accident that gave different versions of the accident to the grand jury.
"But they all agree that the truck driver did not have his signal on and that the truck driver caused the accident," Willis said.
On Tuesday, Torres took the stand in his own defense and testified that he had no memory whatsoever of the accident.
Torres, who did suffer brain injuries as a result of the accident, said that he did remember attending a graduation party at Verea's house, one that was attended by her parents and other family members, and he said remembering drinking one beer.
But he has no recollection of the accident at all.
Drama in the court
There was some drama in the courtroom on Wednesday, according to court and published reports.
While Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Peter Choy, who is trying the case, was cross-examining Torres, Willis jumped to his feet and called for a mistrial, after Choy asked Torres if he personally knew Verea's parents, Dr. Jorge and Lourdes Verea.
Torres responded to Choy's question, calling Rebeka's parents "great people."
Choy then tried to ask if they were "people who deserved to have..." and Willis objected loudly and immediately called for a mistrial.
After a conversation between the attorneys, DePascale told the jury to disregard Choy's last question, saying that it was designated to ask the jury for sympathy for Verea's parents, rather that determining the facts of the case.
"You cannot decide this case based on who you feel sorry for," DePascale told the jury. "Your job is to decide this case dispassionately. It was improper of his prosecutor to ask a question of who deserves what."
DePascale was once the Hudson County Prosecutor before becoming a Superior Court judge a decade ago.
Since their daughter's tragic death, the Verea family formed the Rebeka Verea Foundation, which has raised money to address the issue of safe driving among young people. In the 17 months since the tragedy, the Rebeka Verea Foundation has raised more than $50,000 that has been distributed to worthy safe teen causes, like North Bergen High School's Project Graduation.
The Rebeka Verea Foundation's offices are located in North Bergen on 87th Street and Kennedy Boulevard.
The Torres trial is expected to reach a verdict sometime this week. Closing arguments were slated to begin after press time on Thursday.
"You cannot decide this case based on who you feel sorry for." - Paul DePascale
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