Donald Jessamine was allegedly intoxicated in the deadly 2012 crash on the Delaware River.
Erin Alden says she didn't know Donald Jessamine until after the boat crash that killed her mother.
"I'd never seen him. Never met him. Never heard his name," Alden said on the witness stand Tuesday. "I knew all my mom's friends."
Alden was the first person to testify in the trial against Jessamine, 65, who is accused of aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide in a 2012 boat crash on the Delaware River that killed Lane Alden. He faces 30 years in prison if convicted.
Jessamine, of Phillipsburg, was allegedly drunk June 23, 2012, when he crashed a jet boat into rocks on the river, sending himself, Alden and one other person into the water. Alden's body was found five days later several miles downriver.
She was identified by a bracelet identical to the one her adult daughter was wearing Tuesday in court, according to testimony.
Warren County Prosecutor Richard Burke and Jessamine's attorney, Michael Priarone, delivered opening statements Tuesday morning at state Superior Court in Belvidere before the jury of eight men and six women.
Burke said the state will prove Jessamine acted recklessly. Priarone said the crash was "a freak event." The defense also said Jessamine, Lane Alden and others at Alden's riverside house for a party that afternoon in Harmony Township were all friends.
Opening statements: 'A tale of 2 people'
Erin Alden said she had regular conversations with her mother and never knew of Jessamine until after the crash. Alden said her mother was 58 when she died, though authorities have previously reported she was 57.
"My mom and I had a really, really great relationship that was cut short a little too soon," she said. "She made me the person I am today."
Priarone did not ask any questions of Alden.
The prosecution's second witness, New Jersey State Trooper Jimmy Cruz, described the sobriety tests, including a breath test, that Jessamine took after the crash.
Jurors saw a dashboard camera video of Jessamine reciting the alphabet and doing balance tests at the scene. Testimony ended for the day amid technical difficulties during a video of Jessamine's interview with troopers at the Washington station.
The trial will resume Wednesday morning and is expected to last eight days.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.