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State v. Horton5/3/2004
On September 26, 2001, Gregory Thomas, fourteen years old,was struck and killed while walking with his family. Horton was drivingthe vehicle that struck Thomas.
At trial, the State presented the testimony of SuzieThomas (Gregory's mother) and Geoffrey Thomas (Gregory's nineteen-year-oldbrother). Suzie stated that she, Gregory, and Geoffrey were walking downthe left-hand side of a road near their home shortly after 6:30 p.m. Suzieprofessed that, as they saw a green car approaching, the three crossed theroad. According to Suzie, even though all three of them looked both waysbefore crossing, Gregory was struck by a white car that was coming down the road"very fast." Suzie stated that, when she "looked to goacross the road," she did not see the white car. Suzie and Geoffrey"made it to the side of the... road." Suzie said Gregory was"almost on the side of the road on the grass, but he had not made it to theside of the road." Suzie declared:
And when I saw the car coming, I screamed "Gregory,get out of the road. Go to the side." And as I said that,Gregory's right leg went up like he was going to step on the grass. Andwhen he did that, the car hit him and he flew up.
After striking Gregory, the white car proceeded down thestreet for approximately 275 feet. When Horton stopped and exited thevehicle, Suzie asked: "'Why did you hit my son?'" Hortonresponded: "'[B]ecause he wouldn't get out of my way.'"
On cross-examination, Suzie admitted she did not"tell any of the police officers about" the green car. Whenqueried as to whether she told the officers about Horton's statement that her"son wouldn't get out of the way," Suzie answered: "I don'tremember. I don't think so...." Suzie acknowledged she didnot see Horton's car until it hit Gregory. The following colloquy occurredon cross-examination:
Q: Well, I believe you said that you never saw the whitecar.
A: No, I never saw the white car until we stepped over, but he was-that's howfast he came up on us.
Q: So you only saw the white car just a split second before it hit your son?
A: Right when it hit my son.
Q: So that's the only time that you saw the white car?
A: Yes. I heard him. I heard it and that's when I, you know,screamed for Gregory, and then he-before Gregory could step over onto thegrass, he hit him.
Geoffrey corroborated Suzie's testimony regarding thefacts leading up to the accident. Geoffrey testified he did not see thewhite car when they began to cross the road and did not "hear anybrakes" or see any skid marks after the accident. Geoffrey did nottestify that Horton made a statement after exiting the white car.
Officer David H. Burgess, with the South Carolina HighwayPatrol, was the responding officer. Officer Burgess testified that, uponreaching the accident scene, he noticed there were no skid marks on theroad. While sitting beside Horton in his patrol vehicle, Officer Burgessdetected "an odor of alcohol." Although the officer did notperform any field sobriety tests and noted that Horton did not slur his speechor stagger, he opined that Horton was under the influence. Officer Burgessstated that Horton's attitude after the accident was unusual, commenting thatHorton was "unemotional." The officer admitted he did not know"anything about[a] green car" until the day of trial.
Horton was given a Datamaster test at the SpartanburgCounty Detention Center. Horton registered a 0.03. Highway PatrolOfficer Russell Joye, who administered the test, testified Horton wascooperative, and that he did not smell an odor of alcohol on Horton's person.After the Datamaster test, Officer Joye drove Horton to the hospital for a urinetest. Horton sig
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