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Commonwealth v. Johnson3/23/2004
1 In this appeal from his judgment of sentence for Homicide by Vehicle and related charges, appellant claims the evidence was insufficient to sustain the verdict. He also challenges an evidentiary ruling by the trial court as well as the court's denial of his request for a mistrial. We affirm.
2 The trial court summarized the facts:
On Sunday, September 17, 2000, Augusta Waddell (Victim), who was 75 years of age, was attending church services at the Fellsburg Methodist church, in Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania. Victim was a resident of Duquesne, Pennsylvania, and she had traveled to Fellsburg Methodist Church by bus. At approximately 10:00 p.m., after services had ended, Victim discovered that the bus had departed, leaving her stranded at the church. Apparently confused by this situation, Victim walked away from the church property along Fells Church Road. Motorists observed Victim walking on the cartway, while wearing a dark-colored coat and supporting herself with a four-pronged cane. Shortly thereafter, Victim was struck by [Appellant's] vehicle, which then carried and dragged her for approximately 1,400 feet from the point of impact until she was dislodged from the vehicle.
[Appellant] failed to stop and render assistance, and left the scene of the accident. The next day he purchased used auto body components from a scrap yard and repaired the damaged portions of his vehicle. Despite his attempt to conceal the vehicle damage, [Appellant] was placed under arrest when physical evidence found at the scene of the accident and on [Appellant's] vehicle connected him to the crime. Following a preliminary hearing, a criminal information was filed, charging [Appellant] with Accidents Involving Death or Personal Injury , Homicide by Vehicle, Involuntary Manslaughter, and [violations of vehicular law regulating] Driving a Vehicle at Safe Speed.
Trial Court Opinion, 3/21/03, at 2.
3 Appellant was tried before a jury and found guilty of Accident Involving Death or Personal Injury , Homicide by Vehicle and Involuntary Manslaughter. The trial court sentenced him to 18 to 36 months in prison for Accident Involving Death or Personal Injury and a consecutive sentence of 12 to 24 months for Homicide by Vehicle.
4 Appellant filed post trial motions, which were denied, and now raises the following three issues on appeal:
1. Whether the trial court committed an error of law by denying the Appellant's Motion for Judgment of Acquittal on the basis that the Commonwealth had not presented sufficient evidence to support the charge with respect to the charge of Homicide by Vehicle.
2. Whether the trial court committed an error of law by denying the Appellant's motion for a new trial on the basis of prosecutorial misconduct when the Commonwealth introduced evidence concerning the penalty for vehicular homicide while Driving Under the Influence when this was not a charged offense.
3. Whether the trial court committed an error of law by allowing the Commonwealth to introduce evidence that the Appellant had consumed alcohol earlier on the day of the accident when there was no evidence to link alcohol to the accident.
5 We address first appellant's claim that the evidence offered at trial was insufficient as a matter of law to sustain the guilty verdict for Homicide by Vehicle. In reviewing a sufficiency claim we determine whether the evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom, viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict winner, are sufficient to establish all the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Commonwealth v. Johnson, 539 Pa. 216, 223, 727 A
Page 1 2 3 4 Pennsylvania DUI Attorneys
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