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Verlangieri v. State6/9/2005
ANDREWS, P. J., PHIPPS and MIKELL, JJ.
Joseph A. Verlangieri, convicted of homicide by vehicle, DUI, serious injury by vehicle, and reckless driving, appeals from the trial court's denial of his motions for new trial and for extraordinary new trial.
On appeal from a criminal conviction, the evidence is viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict. We do not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility but only determine whether the evidence is sufficient under the standard of Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979). The verdict must be upheld if any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Stone v. State, 248 Ga. App. 190 (546 SE2d 787) (2001).
So viewed, the evidence was that, on January 31, 1999, Jason Smith and Eric Maples, members of a swim team, attended a party for the team which was seeking new members. Smith met Maples at Maples' home in Vinings and they went to the party in Atlanta in Maples's silver Pontiac Grand Am. Following the party, Smith and Maples picked up Barry Golivesky at his home off Collier Road and went to a Midtown club, Fusion, on Amsterdam Avenue. The three men left the party at approximately 2:15 a.m. on the morning of February 1, with Maples driving. Golivesky asked Maples if he were able to drive and Maples answered affirmatively. Maples drove to Collier Road and let Golivesky out. Golivesky noticed nothing out of the ordinary about Maples' driving. When Golivesky got out at his home around 2:30 a.m., he made sure that Smith, sitting in the front passenger seat, and Maples had fastened their seat belts.
That same morning, Lyons, an employee with Yellow Freight Systems in Marietta, left his home in McDonough no later than 3:00 a.m. in order to make his 4:30 a.m. shift and headed north on I-75 in light traffic. Just after passing the Howell Mill Road exit, Lyons noticed headlights coming toward him, approximately a quarter mile ahead. Although Lyons could not judge the car's speed, he could see that the car was weaving from lane to lane, up to three or four lanes at a time. Lyons took his foot off the gas pedal and began to flash his lights and blow his horn, to no avail. Lyons saw the oncoming car veer from its driver's left-hand side and start to the driver's right. Lyons then saw the car turn toward him and he cut his car hard and went towards the median across three lanes. The oncoming car passed between the driver's side of Lyons's car and the median wall. As he glanced at the car, Lyons saw a dark colored car with one person in it. As Lyons pulled over and stopped at the median wall, he looked in his rearview mirror and saw the dark car swerve back into traffic and hit an oncoming car. Lyons saw no brake lights on the dark car before the crash and he saw the rear ends of both cars go up in the air and the cars spin. In Lyons's opinion, there was nothing the oncoming driver could have done to avoid the accident.
Callear, from Illinois, was also traveling north up I-75 that morning after going to Florida to pick up his daughter. Driving through Atlanta in light traffic, Callear noticed brake lights from a car in front of him. Callear noticed nothing unusual about the car and it was not weaving. He then saw an explosion and stopped his vehicle. He found two cars in the middle of the expressway, with one on its right side. Callear saw a person's arm sticking out the window of the driver's side of that car, the Grand Am, and believed he was dead. Callear heard someone moaning in the car and stayed with him until emergency personnel arrived.
Eric Maple was dead at the scene from massive blunt force trauma and Jas
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