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State v. Driessen8/9/2004
Gregory Chris Driessen (Driessen) appeals the October 14, 2003 judgment of the district court of the third circuit [FN1] that convicted him, after a bench trial, of the charges of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor, [FN2] driving without a license, [FN3] and driving without a current safety check. [FN4] On appeal, Driessen argues insufficiency of the evidence. We affirm.
FN1. The Honorable Joseph P. Florendo, Jr., judge presiding.
FN2. Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 291-4(a) (Supp.1996) provided:
(a) A person commits the offense of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor if:
(1) The person operates or assumes actual physical control of the operation of any vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, meaning that the person concerned is under the influence of intoxicating liquor in an amount sufficient to impair the person's normal mental faculties or
ability to care for oneself and guard against casualty; or
(2) The person operates or assumes actual physical control of the operation of any vehicle with .08 or more grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of blood or .08 or more grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath.
HRS § 291-4 has been superseded by HRS § 291E-61(a) (Supp.2003).
FN3. HRS 286-102(a) (1993) provides that, "No person ... shall operate any category of motor vehicles listed in this section without first being appropriately examined and duly licensed as a qualified driver of that category of motor vehicles."
FN4. HRS § 286-25 (1993) provides that, "Whoever operates, permits the operation of, causes to be operated, or parks any vehicle on a public highway without a current official certificate of inspection, issued under section 286-26, shall be fined not more than $100."
I. Background.
As a result of various stipulations of fact and documents admitted unopposed into evidence, the only issue at trial was whether Driessen was driving the Volkswagen van involved in the accident that led to his arrest.
For the State, Sherry Andrews (Andrews) testified that on May 18, 1996, between 1:00 and 1:30 in the afternoon, she was driving west on Princess Kaiulani Boulevard, approaching the intersection with Tiki Lane where she would have the right-of-way, when she looked to her right and saw a Volkswagen van heading down Tiki Lane towards the stop sign. "And it was going fairly fast and it didn't look like it was going to stop." At that point, Andrews could see the male driver through the driver's side window. Andrews attempted to stop, but a collision seemed imminent and unavoidable, so she closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes again after impact, her car was coasting across the intersection and the van was flipped over on its passenger's side, skidding down the road. Andrews remained in her car until help arrived. In the meantime, "after I kind of composed myself," Andrews saw "a big person" emerging from the shattered windshield of the van, backwards. "The back end, the butt end coming out, yeah." No one else came out of the van. The driver of the van and the "big person" who exited the van were one and the same, and Andrews identified Driessen as that man.
On cross-examination, Andrews acknowledged that she did not see a passenger in the van, nor did she see anything or anyone in the back of the van. "I didn't see anyone except the driver." When asked how she felt when her car coasted to a stop and she opened her eyes, Andrews replied, "Disoriented, not sure what had happened except that I knew I was in an accident but not really sure of what was going on."
Peter Day (Day) testified that his house is located at the intersection. At the time of the accident, he was cleaning his fron
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