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Bullock v. State6/27/2001
Submitted: November 28, 2000
Upon appeal from the Superior Court. REVERSED and REMANDED.
On October 22, 1998, a jury convicted Lester B. Bullock of manslaughter arising from a collision between Jennifer Alleger's car and Bullock's truck at the intersection of Rt. 40 and Pleasant Valley Road. The State charged Bullock with manslaughter for recklessly causing the death of Alleger "by driving at an excessive speed while impaired by alcohol which resulted in a collision with another car." At trial, at the conclusion of the State's case, Bullock moved for a judgment of acquittal and argued that the State's evidence showed that Alleger's disregard of a red light as he entered the intersection on a yellow light primarily caused the collision that resulted in her death. The Superior Court denied the motion. The jury, following the Court's instructions, convicted Bullock of manslaughter and the Court sentenced him to five years at Level V, suspended after one year for declining levels of probation. Bullock filed a timely notice of appeal.
On appeal, Bullock argues that no reasonable juror could conclude that he proximately caused the accident because Alleger became the sole proximate cause of the accident when she disregarded a red light and drove her car into his path after his truck had entered the intersection controlled by a yellow light. Bullock also argues that the Superior Court erred by giving the jury an "unavoidable accident" instruction instead of an "accident" instruction and by failing to instruct the jury properly on reckless causation in accordance with 11 Del. C. § 263. We conclude: (1) that the failure to instruct the jury in accordance with Section 263 deprived Bullock of an instruction that contained an essential principle of law necessary to decide the factual issue presented to them; and (2) that the Superior Court erred in giving an "unavoidable accident" instruction that was not supported by the facts of the case and that undermined the jury's ability to intelligently perform its duty. Accordingly, we REVERSE the judgment of the Superior Court and REMAND this case for a new trial.
I.
On December 8, 1997 at approximately 6:25 p.m., Bullock drove his pick-up truck westward on Route 40 in New Castle County. As he approached the intersection of Route 40 and Pleasant Valley Road, the traffic control signal in front of him at the intersection turned yellow. At the same time, Alleger waited in a turn lane on eastbound Route 40, facing a solid red arrow, preparing to cross the westbound lanes of Route 40 and turn north onto Pleasant Valley Road. Bullock increased his speed through the intersection. As he drove through the intersection, Alleger entered the intersection against the red signal and collided with Bullock's truck.
Delaware State Police Trooper Raymond Shatley responded to the accident. He found Alleger's car on Route 40 approximately 100 feet west of the intersection. He found Bullock's truck on Route 40 farther west of the intersection than Alleger's car. Shatley determined that Alleger was dead at the scene.
Shatley questioned Bullock. He detected an odor of alcohol on Bullock and noticed that Bullock's eyes were glassy. Bullock told Shatley that he had consumed three beers earlier that afternoon. Although Bullock passed several field sobriety tests including a portable breathalizer test, his performance on other tests led Shatley to believe that Bullock was impaired by alcohol. Bullock slurred the letters of the alphabet beyond recognition and failed the one-leg-stand and finger-to-nose tests. Shatley also administered the horizontal gaze nystagmus and the walk-and-turn. The results of these tests supp
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