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State v. Gill10/13/2004
e truck while intoxicated and that the intoxication caused the accident.
The evidence does not support his contention. Trooper Rogers testified that when he interviewed Gill at the scene, he noticed a strong alcohol odor, slurred speech, and red eyes. The first blood sample, taken from Gill by hospital personnel for treatment purposes, read .145 grams percent. A second blood sample, taken for law enforcement purposes about four hours after the accident, showed Gill's blood alcohol concentration was .09 grams percent. Further, Gill admitted to the trooper and the ambulance personnel that he was drinking before the accident. The victim's brother-in-law testified that Gill drove to his house and was drinking a beer about three hours before the accident.
We conclude there is enough evidence in the record to support the jury's conclusion that Gill was driving while intoxicated at the time of the accident.
The vehicular homicide statute also requires proof of causation. In State v. Gibson, this court stated:
**6 The Louisiana Supreme Court has held that "under the vehicular homicide statute, the state, in order to convict, must prove that an offender's unlawful blood alcohol concentration combined with his operation of a vehicle to cause the death of a human being." "It is insufficient for the state to prove merely that the alcohol consumption 'coincides' with the accident." [FN8]
FN8. 97-108, p. 7 (La.App. 3 Cir. 4/30/97), 693 So.2d 286, 290 (internal citations omitted ).
In the case at bar, there is sufficient evidence that a reasonable trier of fact could conclude that Gill's intoxication cased the accident. Trooper Rogers' investigation of the accident scene revealed Gill's truck ran off the right side of the road through a ditch, spun around, crashed through a fence, and into three trees before coming to a stop. No evidence was offered suggesting any other cause of the crash, such as another vehicle, mechanical defect or *1276 failure, weather conditions, or a defect in the roadway.
* * *
CONCLUSION
We conclude that the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Gill was intoxicated at the time of the accident which caused Lisa Faye Thomas' death, and that his impaired driving was a contributing factor in the wreck. We amend the judgment, only, to remove the words "as a condition of parole."
AFFIRMED AS AMENDED.
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