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People v. Massie6/1/1999
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County
Honorable Joan Pucillo, Judge Presiding.
Defendant, Robert A. Massie, appeals the trial court's denial of his petition to rescind the statutory summary suspension of his driving privileges following his arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. On July 31, 1997, defendant filed a petition to rescind his statutory summary suspension. Defendant contends that the trial court erred in finding that: (1) his blood was tested in the ordinary course of emergency room medical care; (2) he was properly arrested under section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Code) (625 ILCS 5/11-501 (West 1996)); (3) the arresting officer had reasonable grounds to believe that he was driving or in physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol; (4) the arresting officer properly warned him; (5) defendant's blood test revealed a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of .10 or more; and (6) the rescission hearing was held within 30 days after defendant filed his petition.
The question we address is what standards of admissibility must the State follow in order to lay the foundation for admitting evidence of blood test results when the State rebuts a prima facie case for rescission based on the unreliable results of a physician-ordered blood test. We hold that the State in a rescission hearing must comply with the standards of admissibility of section 11-501.2(a)(1) of the Code in order to lay the foundation for admitting the blood test results in evidence. 625 ILCS 5/11-501.2(a)(1) (West 1996).
We reverse the trial court's denial of defendant's petition to rescind because the foundational requirements for admitting the results of the blood test were not properly provided by the prosecution after defendant established a prima facie case of the unreliability of the results of the physician-ordered blood test. We therefore need not address defendant's five other issues on appeal.
I. FACTS
At the rescission hearing, defendant testified that on June 27, 1997, at 8:30 p.m., he arrived at the emergency room of MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn after being involved in a motor vehicle accident. He received medical treatment, diagnostic tests, and a blood test. A woman swabbed his arm with alcohol, drew blood, and placed his blood into two vials. At the time of the blood test, there were no police officers present. Defendant testified that he was not under the influence of alcohol at the time he submitted to the blood test and that he had not consumed any alcohol for approximately three hours prior to operating a motor vehicle. Defendant admitted that he, in total, drank two shots of kahlua at approximately 4 p.m.
Defendant testified that after the blood test, a police officer arrived at the hospital. The police officer arrested him and although he had already submitted to a blood test, the officer gave him warnings about submitting to or refusing to submit to a chemical test. The officer also asked defendant to sign a release form, which defendant did. Defendant then consented to submit to a chemical test. Defendant, however, did not receive any additional chemical test. On cross-examination, defendant stated he sustained a head injury and was bleeding from the head as a result of the accident. Over objection on cross-examination, defendant testified that he was told that the blood test at the hospital revealed a BAC of over .24.
Defendant's mother, Wendy Massie, testified that between 10 p.m. and 10:15 p.m., she saw defendant at the MacNeal Hospital emergency room. She noticed that defendant had a head injury but did not witness any medical treatment given to defendant. Wend
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