Man Awaiting DWI-Fatality Trial to Get Jail Leave

James DeMartino will be allowed a six-day leave after prosecutors consented to the defense's request

A man awaiting trial on charges that he killed a Bronx woman while driving drunk in the suburbs will get out of jail temporarily after his second child is born.

Judge James T. Rooney in Putnam County approved the order for James M. DeMartino Jr.

 

His trial on second-degree murder, DWI and other charges starts in June. He has pleaded not guilty.
 
Police allege that DeMartino was driving at a high rate of speed, crossed the double-yellow line and crashed into another car. The November 2010 crash on Route 22 in Southeast claimed the life of Michelle Mathis, who was riding in the other car.
 
Carole Sears, who runs the Westchester Mothers Against Drunk Driving, disagreed with the court's decision to grant DeMartino leave.
 
"If the person that killed my husband had been allowed out for a wonderful family occasion, I would have felt that the courts had really let me down," she told NBC 4 New Y ork.
 
The Journal News says the judge granted a six-day leave after prosecutors consented to the defense's request.
 
It's unclear when the baby is due.

Roseanne Colletti contributed to this report.

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