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State v. Wilson12/31/2003
The defendant's offenses stemmed from an automobile accident that occurred during the early morning hours of September 21, 2000, on Cherokee Road in Washington County. The then eighteen-year-old defendant, driving in the rain and fog with no headlights, crashed head-on into a guardrail which resulted in the death of one passenger, Heather Nicole Tipton, and injuries to the three other passengers, Brandy Greene, Stephanie McCurry, and Trista Jones.
At the defendant's January 13, 2003, probation hearing, Trooper Diane Mays testified that she was called to the scene of the accident where she found the defendant's blue Honda automobile sitting with the front end against a guardrail. She said that Heather Nicole Tipton, who was riding in the front seat, died as a result of her necklace becoming hung on the seat and being ejected, cutting her carotid artery in the process. Trooper Mays subsequently spoke to Greene, McCurry, Jones, and the defendant at the hospital. Initially, all three girls said they did not remember what had happened, but thirteen-year-old Greene later said that the defendant and some of the girls had taken some pills and that she had driven the group to Wal-Mart. According to Greene, even though the defendant was "really out of it," he decided to drive when the group left Wal-Mart at about 4:00 a.m. Greene told Trooper Mays that the defendant drove erratically, going from one side of the road to the other, and she screamed at him to let her drive.
Because the defendant told Trooper Mays that there was a problem with his brakes, she had his vehicle inspected at a local body shop where the brakes were found to be in working condition. Greene also had told Mays that the brakes on the defendant's car were soft but not inoperable. Trooper Mays read the results of the defendant's toxicology report which was positive for one narcotic drug.
Stephanie McCurry testified that the defendant picked up her and the other girls around midnight. Everyone, except Greene, ingested "quite a bit of pills" during the night, and Greene drove the group to Wal-Mart. McCurry said she thought the defendant took four Somas and about ten Valiums. She did not know if the defendant had driven erratically because she passed out from the pills she took. McCurry also said she had driven the defendant's car earlier that evening and the brakes were "very bad."
Cindy Harrell, the mother of Heather Nicole Tipton, testified that Tipton was eighteen years old at the time of her death and had been living with her grandmother, Dorothy Burrow. Both Ms. Harrell and Ms. Burrow testified that the defendant deserved a sentence of more than six years. Ms. Burrow said that the defendant had never apologized to her, and she had not received the letter he wrote to the deceased's family.
The defendant testified that the accident occurred at about 4:00 a.m., and it was raining and foggy at that time. He said he had never driven down Cherokee Road before, and his brakes were not "doing too good. They'd go almost to the floor before they'd start stopping, then it would take a while for them to stop." He denied that Brandy Greene drove the group to Wal-Mart. Although admitting that he drove with no headlights, the defendant denied driving erratically or speeding. The defendant also admitted that he ingested " aybe two" Valiums that night but denied taking ten, in contradiction to McCurry's testimony. The defendant's letters of apology addressed to each of the victim's families were admitted into evidence.
The defendant further testified that he had no prior criminal record, his bond for the instant offenses had been revoked in August 2002, and he was currently incarcerat
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