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State v. Ingraham6/23/1998
lane road upon which Ingraham was traveling was dry as he passed through the St. Ignatius area. According to Ingraham's testimony at trial, just moments before the accident he saw headlights from an oncoming vehicle approaching in his lane of traffic. Ingraham shouted, at which point his dogs jumped into the front seat and he pushed them aside. Ingraham testified that the oncoming vehicle remained in his lane and that he thus swerved to the left, in a failed attempt to avoid the head-on collision in which Harriman-Larson was killed and Adams seriously injured.
Adams, according to his testimony at trial, had spent portions of the day and evening preceding the accident drinking in St. Ignatius and Ronan. Although uncertain on the details, Adams indicated he had a few mid-morning beers at a friend's house, and then, to the best of his recollection, went home. Sometime later, he visited friends in Ronan and had a few more drinks. He remembered subsequently visiting two bars and having additional drinks, before attempting to hitch a ride home at roughly 2:00 a.m. on the morning of the accident. Shortly thereafter, Harriman-Larson stopped and offered Adams a ride. Thus, with Adams in the passenger seat, Harriman-Larson turned south on Highway 93, heading toward St. Ignatius. Tests revealed that Adams had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .278.
Little is known about Harriman-Larson's activities during the evening hours preceding the accident, save for the fact that she spent approximately two hours visiting with her friend, Kay Palmer. Palmer testified that Harriman-Larson came over to her house at approximately 9:00 that evening, and stayed until 11:00 p.m., during which time Harriman-Larson drank two bourbon and waters. Harriman-Larson's activities between the time she left Palmer's house and the time she offered Adams a ride shortly before the accident, remain unknown. Although Harriman-Larson's exact activities remain unknown, forensic scientist Lynn Kurtz performed an alcohol screen on a blood sample taken from Harriman-Larson, which indicated the presence of .07 grams of alcohol per 100 mills of whole blood. Kurtz testified that the blood sample may have been contaminated, however, and stated that testing of Harriman-Larson's vitreous sample revealed a higher BAC of .14. Moreover, forensic toxicologist Susan Rasmussen testified that Harriman-Larson's body fluids contained an "extremely high level" of THC, the chemical substance found in marijuana. Rasmussen explained that tests revealed .297 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood.
Adams testified that, shortly after Harriman-Larson began driving south on Highway 93, he saw a vehicle approaching in their lane. Adams remembered Harriman-Larson exclaiming, "Hey what's he doing," and then slowing down before the impact. Because of his injuries, Adams remembers nothing of the events immediately following the collision. He testified that his next memory was of waking up in the hospital three weeks later.
At 2:30 a.m. that morning Ingraham called his father on the phone from a nearby house which he forcibly entered while its occupants were asleep. Ingraham testified that he told his father, also an attorney, that he had been in an accident and that there were emergency vehicles on the scene. Ingraham's activities immediately following the accident, including leaving the accident scene to make the call, and breaking into the house, gave rise to some of the charges which were ultimately lodged against him. In fact, the State alleged that Ingraham failed to render aid to Adams by leaving the accident scene.
Responding to a call from dispatch, Highway Patrol Officer Michael Roth arrived at the accident scene
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