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State v. Engesser4/23/2003
days.
[ .] According to the State's accident investigator, the Corvette was traveling approximately 112 miles per hour when it slammed into the back of the minivan, spun off the road, and rolled several times before coming to rest on its roof in the median. The passenger side of the Corvette was crushed on impact with the minivan. Engesser was thrown from the car and was found face down in the grass six to ten feet away from the open driver's door of the car. One of the first people on the scene was Mary Redfield, an off-duty emergency room nurse. Using her medical training, Redfield cleared Engesser's airway, allowing the unconscious man to breathe. The nurse noted that Engesser had a strong pulse. As she continued to aid Engesser, she noticed that he had a gash on the right side of his head. She also noticed that he had the odor of an alcoholic beverage. Engesser was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
[ .] Finley was trapped inside, on the passenger side of the Corvette. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Mike Walker, a Meade County Deputy Sheriff, arrived on the scene. After checking on the McPhersons, he walked over to the Corvette where he had been informed that there had been a fatality. Crawling inside the open driver's door, Walker checked Finley's pulse. With the car lying on its roof, he found Finley's body underneath the passenger seat, her body in line with the seat. The upper part of Finley's body was lying over the top of the seat. She was facing the ground. Her feet were underneath the dash. Her face was pointing toward the driver's side. Shortly thereafter, emergency workers used the Jaws of Life tool to extract Finley from the wreckage. Her body was removed through the driver's door because the passenger side of the vehicle was so damaged the passenger side door could not be opened.
[ .] The officer designated to lead the investigation was Trooper Ed Fox of the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Preliminary information given to Fox erroneously reported that Finley was found in the driver's seat and his initial report reflected that information.*fn1 Fox inspected the passenger compartment of the car to determine whether there was any blood or trace evidence. It was dark and he was unable to see any blood. He ordered the vehicle impounded to test it for trace evidence, including blood.
[ .] After investigation at the scene, Fox went to the hospital to interview Engesser. Having suffered a head injury, Engesser was combative and incoherent. The only coherent thing Engesser said to the trooper was that he had not been driving. Smelling the odor of an alcoholic beverage on Engesser, Fox ordered a blood draw to determine his blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Fox did not read the implied consent warning to Engesser. The officer was unsure who had been the driver. At the time of the test, Engesser was not in custody or detained by the officer; in fact, he was not arrested until approximately seven months later. The test later revealed that Engesser's BAC was .081. Extrapolated back to the time of the accident, the BAC would have been .125, according to the chemist who testified for the prosecution.
[ .] Meanwhile, the Corvette was taken to a private lot where it was left outdoors and uncovered through the time of the trial. The first attempt at an in-depth inspection of the vehicle took place approximately three weeks after the accident when the State's expert went to the lot.*fn2 Fox had requested that the State Crime Lab examine the vehicle to attempt to determine placement of individuals in the car through blood or trace evidence. The State's expert testified that he did not find any blood in the car and only a trace amount on the roof. He decided that because
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