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State v. Crenshaw4/6/2005
fore, cannot support his convictions.
To the contrary, the State argues that the evidence presented was adequate to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Defendant was the driver. We agree.
Vehicular homicide is defined under La. R.S. 14:32.1, stating, in part:
A. Vehicular homicide is the killing of a human being caused proximately or caused directly by an offender engaged in the operation of, or in actual physical control of, any motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or other means of conveyance, whether or not the offender had the intent to cause death or great bodily harm, whenever any of the following conditions exists:
(1) The operator is under the influence of alcoholic beverages as determined by chemical tests administered under the provisions of R.S. 32:662.
(2) The operator's blood alcohol concentration is 0.08 percent or more by weight based upon grams of alcohol per one hundred cubic centimeters of blood.
....
La. R.S. 14:39.2 defines first degree vehicular negligent injuring as:
...the inflicting of serious bodily injury upon the person of a human being when caused proximately or caused directly by an offender engaged in the operation of, or in actual physical control of, any motor vehicle...
(1) The offender is under the influence of alcoholic beverages.
(2) The offender's blood alcohol concentration is 0.08 percent or more by weight based upon grams of alcohol per one hundred cubic centimeters of blood.
C. For the purposes of this Section, 'serious bodily injury' means bodily injury which involves unconsciousness, extreme pain or protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ or a mental faculty, or substantial risk of death.
Defendant also cites Jackson, supra, stating that a review of the evidence does not support his conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. To this end, he points to the testimony- or perhaps more poignantly, the "holes" in the testimony- given by all three occupants of the offending car on the night in question. He argues that the principal evidence given in this case, i.e. the testimony of Dauman, was riddled with inconsistencies and is not credible.
The State asserts that Defendant's argument ignores a videotape and the testimony of several other witnesses who indicated that Defendant was drunk on the night in question and that he was the driver at the time of the accident. The State began the trial with the testimony of Alice Smith, who, on the night of the collision, was driving the Taylors home from Bible study.
Ms. Smith testified that she made a stop at Marshall and Creswell streets in Shreveport and then heard a roaring sound, looked in the rearview mirror and saw lights coming "really, really fast." She further testified that something hit
....
her vehicle and spun it around three times and stopped. Paramedics then arrived on the scene and removed the occupants from the vehicle.
Gertrude Bryant, who lives at the corner of Creswell and Marshall in Shreveport, testified that she was in her front yard when she saw a white car pass by her car (which was parked in the street) "real fast." Ms. Bryant also testified that she heard a "big boom," and then she ran to the scene where she saw that the white car had hit a red car. By the time she got there, a police officer had already arrived at the scene.
Bruce Brock, who also lived nearby, testified that, on the night of this collision, he was in his house and heard a "car with a wide open throttle coming down Marshall
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