‘Fearing for my life.’ Drago describes Evelyn Rodriguez confrontation in grand jury testimony

Drago is facing a negligent homicide charge for running over Rodriguez, the mother of Kayla Cuevas, one of two teens allegedly killed by MS-13 in 2016.

News 12 Staff

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Mar 3, 2020, 8:16 PM

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Updated 1,758 days ago

Although it remains to be seen if defendant Ann Marie Drago will take the stand in her own defense – jurors, in a sense, heard from her Tuesday in the case of Evelyn Rodriguez’s death.

Drago is facing a negligent homicide charge for running over Rodriguez, the mother of Kayla Cuevas, one of two teens allegedly killed by MS-13 in 2016.

Drago's previous testimony before a grand jury was put into evidence Tuesday. She described being in her SUV with her former fiancé when Evelyn Rodriguez and her longtime partner Freddy Cuevas angrily confronted them. The couple was angry that they had taken down a memorial to Kayla Cuevas.

MORE: News 12's Eileen Lehpamer testifies in trial of driver charged in Evelyn Rodriguez death

Drago said the pair banged and spit on her vehicle and tried to open some of the doors. At that point, Drago said she started to drive away, insisting that she did not see Evelyn standing right near the driver's window.

She said, "I was almost in shock, fearing for my life. I was just frozen, looking out my front window."

As she drove away, the vehicle rolled over and killed Evelyn.

Drago testimony also included a comment about how the experience left her shaken. She said, "I'm very, very sorry for the family of Evelyn Rodriguez."

The man that was in the vehicle with Drago, Mace Scanlon, took the stand Tuesday and reiterated Drago’s claims that Rodriguez and Cuevas were banging on the vehicle and trying to open doors.

Prosecutors, however, pointed to video recorded by a News 12 crew that was on the scene that day. They say it shows that Drago and Scanlon were exaggerating about the couple's confrontation.

Rodriguez became an anti-gang activist after the death of Kayla Cuevas. She and Freddy were President Donald Trump’s guests at the State of the Union in 2018.