 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Gillum v. Commonwealth8/26/2004
THIS OPINION IS DESIGNATED "NOT TO BE PUBLISHED." PURSUANT TO THE RULES OF CIVIL PROCED URE PROMULGATED BY THE SUPREME COURT, CR 76.28 (4) (c), THIS OPINION IS NOT TO BE PUBLISHED AND SHALL NOT BE CITED OR USED AS AUTHORITY IN ANY OTHER CASE IN ANY COURT OF THIS STATE.
MEMORANDUM OPINION OF THE COURT
AFFIRMING
Appellant, Jimmy Gillum, appeals to this Court as a matter of right from his convictions of first-degree wanton endangerment (two counts), first-degree criminal mischief, leaving the scene of an accident, and being a first-degree persistent felony offender (PFO). Appellant was also charged with driving on a DUI suspended license, for which he agreed to plead guilty prior to trial. Appellant was sentenced to various terms for all offenses, but in lieu thereof to a total of twenty (20) years as a first-degree PFO. Finding no reversible error, we affirm Appellant's convictions in full.
This incident arises from Appellant's involvement in an automobile hit and run accident that occurred during the evening hours on Interstate 24 near Paducah, Kentucky on June 15, 2001. Rodney Moeller was traveling with his son in his red Chevy truck when he noticed a white car traveling at a high rate of speed in the rear view mirror. He estimated that the car was traveling at approximately 85-90 miles per hour (MPH). The tires on the white car suddenly squealed as it pulled directly alongside Moeller's truck. The white car veered over and struck Moeller's truck on the driver side pushing it some sixty yards off of the Interstate highway. Both Moeller and his son were jostled "up and down pretty hard" but received only minor abrasions, cuts, and bumps when the top of Moeller's head hit the doorframe. Moeller stopped his truck, checked to see if his son was injured, and walked back up to the Interstate highway. It was then that Moeller noticed the white car getting ready to leave, and he instructed his son to write down its license plate number. Another motorist, Georgiana Johnston, who observed the incident, stopped at the scene and called the police on her cellular phone. The police quickly responded to the scene and Moeller reported the incident. Ms. Johnston also provided Moeller with her business card and telephone number.
After returning home, Ms. Johnston received a call from the police asking her to accompany them to identify the driver of the white car. She traveled with the police to the Indian Oak Trailer Court where she observed the white car upon jacks.
The white car had red paint on it and the hood was raised. She also saw the driver of the white car wearing what appeared to be the same white t-shirt that he was wearing when she saw him at the scene of the accident. At the time of the accident, Appellant's driver's license was suspended. His license suspension would have expired on October 17, 2001.
At trial, Georgiana Johnston testified that she was driving in the right lane on Interstate 24 near mile-marker 8 when a white car passed her in the left lane traveling at an approximate speed of 80-85 MPH. Moeller's red Chevy truck was directly in front of her car. The white car suddenly and erratically swerved to the right, hit the red truck, and knocked it off the road. As a result of the collision, the white car also went off the right shoulder into the grass. Ms. Johnston pulled over next to the white car, rolled down the passenger-side window, and asked the driver of the white car if he was okay. She reported that the driver said that he was "fine" and asked if she had a cell phone. She responded that she did have a cell phone, and he immediately sped away. At trial she identified the driver of the white car as Appell
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Kentucky DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|