MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — The woman who was knocked into a coma during a fight over a parking space on 14th Street is forced to wear a helmet to guard her unprotected brain.
Lana Rosas, 25, walked out of the District Attorney's office on Wednesday wearing the gear, which she has to use all day long, after it was decided that she would not testify in the trial of Oscar Fuller, 34, who allegedly punched her. Prosecutors did not say why.
After the brutal dustup earlier this year, Rosas had her forehead bone removed during an intense surgery to relieve the swelling on her brain, her lawyer, David Oddo, said Wednesday.
The bone was then implanted into her stomach to keep the tissue alive so it can eventually be put back, he added.
"Obviously she doesn't leave the house very much because its too dangerous," Oddo added.
Testimony in the chilling case ended Wednesday without the jury hearing from the badly injured victim.
Jurors heard form several prosecution witnesses who said they saw Fuller violently strike Rosas in the face on Feb. 25.
"This was a full on knockout punch," said Alex Rivas, who testified Wednesday and called 911 for help.
"There was a significant amount of blood coming out of both sides of her mouth," he added.
Prosecutors say Fuller hit her so hard, she felt to the ground and smacked her head on the pavement.
Fuller, 34, chose not to testify, but through his attorney maintains that Rosas hit him first and that he did not intend to hit her so hard.
"I wasn't aiming for anything. I was aiming to hit her," Fuller said in a videotaped statement to prosecutors. "She hit me first. All I was trying to do is hit her back."
His girlfriend, Gladys Diaz, testified Wednesday that Rosas was standing in the spot and refused to let them park.
When they asked her to step aside Rosas refused and charged at Fuller after he stepped out of the car, Diaz said.
"Motherf---er, you tried to hit me with your f---ing car," Diaz said Rosas shouted at her boyfriend.
Diaz said she saw Rosas strike Fuller in the face and then he hit her back once. She said the punch was not as hard as other witnesses have described.
Closing arguments are expected to begin Friday morning. Fuller is charged with felony assault.
