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State v. Bailey11/29/2001
Assigned on Briefs October 30, 2001
The Appellant, Robbie R. Bailey, was indicted by a Washington County Grand Jury for one count of driving under the influence , fourth offense, one count of driving on a revoked license, and two counts of vehicular assault. On December 1, 2000, Bailey pled guilty to two counts of vehicular assault and one count of driving on a revoked license. After a sentencing hearing on January 10, 2001, the trial court sentenced Bailey, as a range I standard offender, to the maximum term of four years on each count of vehicular assault and ordered that the sentences be served consecutively in the Department of Correction.
On appeal, Bailey raises the following issues for our review: (1) whether the sentences imposed for vehicular assault were excessive; and (2) whether the trial court erred by denying Bailey's request for a non incarcerative alternative sentence. After review, we find no reversible error and affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3; Judgment of the Criminal Court is Affirmed.
David G. Hayes, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which James Curwood Witt, Jr. and John Everett Williams, J.J., joined.
OPINION
Factual Background
On the evening of March 4, 2000, Steve Clayton, a third-year medical student in the East Tennessee State University medical program, and his girlfriend, Kara Kuntz, a junior pre-med student at East Tennessee State University, were returning from the grocery store when they were struck head-on by a pick-up truck driven by the Appellant. Officer Larry Williams, of the Johnson City Police Department, testified that the Appellant drove his truck approximately 2 ½ feet across the center line directly into the path of the 1998 Honda Civic driven by Clayton, pushing Clayton's vehicle approximately 70 feet across another lane of traffic before it came to rest in a ditch. Officer Williams testified that the Appellant did not have his headlights on at the time of the collision and that the Appellant's blood alcohol level was .228 percent. Officer Williams also determined that the Appellant was traveling 55 mph in a 30 mph zone within the city limits.
Clayton suffered various injuries as a result of the collision, including fractures to the right radius [forearm], a partial ACL tear to his left knee, and various lacerations to his head and hands. Two surgeries were required to reduce the arm fracture through pin placement. The damage to Clayton's left knee also required various MRI's, drainage and the injection of steroids. In addition to his physical injuries, Clayton suffered a two-month delay in his residency and a monetary loss of approximately $28,000.
Clayton's passenger, Ms. Kuntz, faired less favorably, with the most significant injury being to her head. This injury resulted in permanent brain damage. At sentencing, Ms. Kuntz's injuries were described as follows:
Mostly she had bled into her frontal lobes, and she had what they call an intraparenchymal bleed as well as a contrecoup injury . . . She bled into the front part of brain which is known to control centers for personality, memory, and knowledge - socially appropriate behavior I guess is the best way to put it - as well as various other bleeds. And then she damaged the back part of her brain that controls your ability to walk and initiate walking . . . When you walk you don't have to think about taking a step or keeping your balance because that part of your brain constantly adjusts. Well, she had injured it and just made all types of coordinated movement like that very, very difficult. She several other injuries - the biggest injury by
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