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Glazier v. State12/22/1992
Appellant seeks review of his conviction for aggravated vehicular homicide under W.S. 6-2-106(b). He contends that the evidence was not sufficient to convict and that causation was not proven. He also argues that the statutory presumption that a person with a blood alcohol content of .10 percent is impaired, is an impermissible mandatory presumption.
We affirm.
Appellant raises the following issues:
I. Whether the trial court's decision must be reversed based on insufficiency of the evidence.
A. Whether the injuries sustained by both Mr. Glazier and Ms. Davis are consistent with Ms. Davis being the driver of the motorcycle.
B. Whether the positions where Mr. Glazier and Ms. Davis landed prove that Ms. Davis was the driver of the motorcycle.
C. Whether Mr. Glazier's recanted admissions that he was the driver of the motorcycle provide conclusive evidence that he actually was the driver.
II. Whether, if it is found that Mr. Glazier was the driver at the time of the accident, his actions were the proximate cause of Ms. Davis' death.
III. Whether the conviction must be reversed because the statute establishes an impermissible mandatory presumption that the defendant was incapable of safely driving because he had an alcohol concentration of 0.10% or more.
On May 18, 1991, Mason Glazier (appellant) and his companion, Sunni Davis, were on a "poker run." A "poker run" is an activity in which a participant pays an admission fee and then makes five predetermined stops along a predetermined route and obtains a card at each stop. When all have arrived at the final destination, the person with the best hand wins. Appellant and Davis were riding the poker run intending to rendezvous with the rest of their group in Story, Wyoming, where, at the conclusion of the poker run, there was to be a weekend party.
Appellant and Davis left Casper on appellant's Harley Davidson motorcycle at about 12:30 in the afternoon. Their first stop was at the Hole in the Wall Bar in Kaycee where they stayed about 45 minutes. Their next stop was the Buffalo Bar in Buffalo, Wyoming where they stayed 45 minutes to an hour. Appellant and his companion consumed alcoholic beverages at these two stops.
At about 5:00 p.m. law enforcement officers and an ambulance were summoned to respond to a one-vehicle accident just east of the I-25 and I-90 interchange near Buffalo, Wyoming. When Patrolman Stauffacher arrived at the scene, he observed a female lying on her stomach with her head facing downhill in a cement drainage ditch. She appeared to be critically injured. Patrolman Stauffacher observed appellant, who was walking and did not appear to be as critically injured. Patrolman Stauffacher asked appellant if he remembered what happened. He responded that they "were pushed wide in the corner." The patrolman also asked if they had been passed by a car or a truck, and appellant replied that he did not know.
The ambulance crew placed the critically injured woman into the ambulance. Two officers escorted appellant to the ambulance as well. Both officers testified that they could smell alcohol on appellant. Later in the evening, Patrolman Stauffacher went to the hospital to complete his accident report. He spoke with appellant again about the cause of the accident. Appellant said that he had been "pushed wide in a turn." The patrolman inquired what had pushed them, and appellant stated he was not sure but it may have been a gust of wind. Patrolman Stauffacher then asked why the brakes were not applied before leaving the roadway. Appellant responded that he was afraid to apply the brake
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