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Commonwealth v. Perry4/17/1998
This is an appeal from the judgment of sentence of the Court of Common Pleas of Lycoming County. Appellant Dodd Perry was found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under suspension, DUI related. Appellant claims that the statements he made to Pennsylvania State Police Trooper, James McCormick, Jr., were the product of an illegal custodial interrogation, due, in part, to the fact that questioning occurred while Appellant was being treated in the emergency room. Therefore, Appellant asserts, the statements should have been suppressed. We affirm.
The standard of review in a motion to suppress is clear: When reviewing the suppression court's denial of a motion to suppress, we must first ascertain whether the record supports the suppression court's factual findings. See Commonwealth v. Dangle, 700 A.2d 538 (Pa.Super. 1997). We are bound by the suppression court's findings if they are supported by the record, and may only reverse the suppression court if the legal Conclusions drawn from the findings are in error. Id.
With this standard of review in mind, the record reveals the following: Appellant was involved in an automobile accident on the morning of March 1, 1996. The trooper responded to the accident and noticed Appellant, but did not speak to him. The trooper did speak to an emergency medical technician (EMT) who was on the scene and who indicated to the trooper that he noticed the odor of alcohol on Appellant's breath. Because Appellant suffered injury from the accident, he had been taken to an area hospital.
Trooper McCormick, following standard police procedure, proceeded to the hospital to further investigate the accident. Upon his arrival at the hospital, the trooper located Appellant and questioned him about the accident. During questioning, Appellant was lying on his back on a gurney, wearing a neck brace, and had intravenous tubes in his arms. Hospital staff, along with Appellant's mother and fiancée, were present intermittently during the questioning.
While questioning Appellant, the trooper noticed an odor of alcohol on Appellant's breath. The trooper asked Appellant whether he was the driver of the automobile, to which he responded, "Yes." Trooper McCormick then asked Appellant if he had been drinking, and Appellant responded that he had "five to six Molsen beers at the Pub" prior to the accident. The trooper then placed Appellant under arrest and read him Miranda warnings. Subsequently, the trooper obtained a search warrant for Appellant's blood alcohol test results. Appellant's blood alcohol content was measured at .12 percent, which was greater than the legal limit.
On March 22, 1996, in connection with the accident of March 1, 1996, Appellant was charged with the offenses of driving under the influence of alcohol , careless driving , driving a vehicle at an unsafe speed , and driving while operating privileges were suspended or revoked. In pre-trial motions, Appellant moved to suppress the statements he had made to the trooper at the hospital because the questioning occurred during what Appellant termed "custodial interrogation" prior to him being properly read the required Miranda warnings.
As a result of the questioning, the trial court determined that the trooper had probable cause to obtain a search warrant for blood test results, from which Appellant's blood alcohol content was determined. The trial court found that the trooper's questioning of Appellant was proper and that the statements made by Appellant were admissible. On January 13, 1997, Appellant was tried in the Court of Common Pleas of Lycoming County, and was found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving whil
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