Bark to plead not guilty in Cohen's death

TOMS RIVER, N.J., July 30 (UPI) -- The man charged with fatally striking "American Idol" hopeful Alexis Cohen with his car in New Jersey will plead not guilty to all charges, his lawyer said.

Cohen, 25, died last weekend from injuries she sustained in the collision. She had earned some notoriety in her life for her emotional reaction to not being selected to progress during two "American Idol" auditions.

Daniel Bark, 23, was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter, death by vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident in connection with Cohen's death last weekend in Seaside Heights, N.J. He is being held in the Ocean County Jail on $150,000 bail.

"There will be a not guilty plea entered across the board for all of the complaints," Bark's attorney, Daniel Glassman, told People.com.

"We don't have anything in regards to the mechanics of how this young woman was killed," Glassman added. "There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding how the accident occurred."

Glassman also said Bark is deeply distraught about the charges stemming from the incident and is currently on a suicide watch.

"He's having a very difficult time being charged with killing someone," the lawyer told People.com. "It's an emotional overload."