he [petitioner] and Randy Loyd went to Ray's Market (Ray's), a beer store and drinking establishment. They drank beer. Later, the [petitioner], Loyd, and an employee of Ray's, Glenda Sue Sams, went to a restaurant to eat dinner. They ate dinner and had beer or mixed drinks. They returned to Ray's at approximately 11 p.m. The victims, Lehew and Garland, were at Ray's drinking beer.

Loyd left Ray's before the appellant. Loyd testified that he tried to convince the [petitioner] not to drive because the [petitioner] was not "in good enough shape to drive." Loyd testified that Ms. Sams and the proprietor of Ray's, Laura Prescott, also tried to convince the appellant not to drive. Loyd rode with Lehew and Garland to the [petitioner's] house so that Loyd could get his vehicle. Lehew and Garland were supposed to meet Loyd at Loyd's house to go to a party together. Lehew and Garland never made it.

The [petitioner] plowed head-on into the vehicle occupied by Lehew and Garland. The [petitioner] was driving a pickup truck. Lehew was driving a Mazda car. Lehew's lower body was pinned inside the car. Garland's body was thrown approximately twenty feet from the car. The [petitioner's] truck turned on its side. He suffered minor injuries.

The primary issues at trial were whether the [petitioner] was intoxicated, and, if so, whether his intoxicated state was the proximate cause of the deaths of the victims. Dr. Kenneth Ferslew, a forensic toxicologist, testified to the laboratory reports of the [petitioner] and Lehew, the driver of the Mazda car. The [petitioner's] blood-alcohol level when he was tested after the accident was .06. Dr. Ferslew testified that the [petitioner's] blood-alcohol level at the time of the accident was between .097 and .108. The [petitioner] also had a blood-level concentration of diazepam or Valium in his system. Dr. Ferslew testified that the concentration of diazepam in the [petitioner's] blood was in the therapeutic range as opposed to a toxic range. The therapeutic effects of diazepam include reduced anxiety, muscle relaxation and sedation. He further testified that mixing alcohol with diazepam would have increased the effects of both drugs on the [petitioner], causing a greater impairment than either substance alone would have caused. Dr. Ferslew testified that, in his opinion, the [petitioner] would have been impaired from the alcohol and diazepam at the time of the collision.

Lehew's blood-alcohol level was .03. Lehew's blood drug screen was positive for marijuana, cocaine, and a therapeutic level of diazepam. Marijuana was found in Lehew's possession.

The state produced evidence to establish that the [petitioner's] truck crossed the center line on the highway, entered the victims' lane, and collided head-on with the car. The state's reconstruction of the accident was based primarily on gouge marks and scratches in the pavement, the damage to both vehicles, the location of the damage to the vehicles, and debris left at the scene. The defense presented expert testimony to establish that th

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