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Woman Charged In Death At Car Wash

Victim Was Drying Her Car

POSTED: 7:33 am EDT June 23, 2007
UPDATED: 3:20 pm EDT June 23, 2007

A witness to a deadly crash outside a Haverhill car wash told police he never saw brake lights on the Mercedes-Benz coupe that struck and killed Robin Young, 43, of Danville, N.H.

The Eagle-Tribune reported that the witness statement was filed as part of the case against Marie Pigaga, 46, of Plaistow, N.H., who surrendered Friday to face charges of motor vehicle homicide.

“She said she lost control of the vehicle due to a malfunction,” prosecutor Christopher Holland said. “One witness said she was traveling 40 to 50 miles per hour and that he didn’t see any brakes. It was all gas.”

Holland said Young was drying her car at the car wash Tuesday when a car driven by Pigaga left the road, jumped a wall and went through the parking lot, hitting Young.

"She jumped the wall -- there was an evergreen here -- and ran straight across the lot to where the woman was at that first vacuum," a witness at Haffner's car wash said.

Young's 10-year-old daughter was in the car and witnessed the accident.

Pigaga's attorney blamed a problem with the car's brakes, but Holland told the Eagle-Tribune that an inspection of the car by a mechanic showed there was nothing wrong with the braking, steering or acceleration systems.

Pigaga was arraigned and released on $5,000 bail.


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