You are here: / / DEFENDANT’S DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED AT HIGH SPEEDS AND IGNORING...
,

DEFENDANT’S DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED AT HIGH SPEEDS AND IGNORING TRAFFIC LIGHTS, RESULTING IN AN INTERSECTION COLLISION WHICH KILLED THE OTHER DRIVER, SUPPORTED THE DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE MURDER CONVICTION.

The Second Department, over a partial dissent, determined the evidence supported defendant’s conviction for depraved indifference murder in this driving-while-intoxicated/vehicular-homicide case. Defendant, who was intoxicated and high on marijuana, drove at high speeds through residential neighborhoods, ignoring traffic lights at intersections. A collision an an intersection split the victim’s (Whether’s) car in two and killed him instantly. The dissent argued the high evidence-threshold for depraved indifference murder was not met:

A person is guilty of depraved indifference murder when, “[u]nder circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, [such person] recklessly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to another person, and thereby causes the death of another person” (Penal Law § 125.25[2]). Depraved indifference is a culpable mental state which “is best understood [*3]as an utter disregard for the value of human life—a willingness to act not because one intends harm, but because one simply doesn’t care whether grievous harm results or not” … . Thus, “a depraved and utterly indifferent actor is someone who does not care if another is injured or killed” … . “The mens rea of depraved indifference to human life can, like any other mens rea, be proved by circumstantial evidence” … .

Here, the evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant recklessly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death to another person. First, the defendant was knowingly driving with a revoked driver license. Second, the defendant was driving while intoxicated with a BAC of approximately 0.25%, and high on marijuana. Third, the defendant engaged in a high-speed chase with the police for approximately two miles. Fourth, during this chase, the defendant sped through narrow streets of a residential neighborhood, traveling at speeds of more than double the legal limit. The defendant also ran through numerous stop signs and red traffic lights, without slowing down.

The evidence further demonstrated that prior to the crash, the defendant sped eastbound down Pine Street, a residential street with stop signs and traffic lights, reaching a speed of over 80 miles per hour. Perhaps most significantly, the compelling circumstantial evidence demonstrated that as the defendant approached a red traffic light at the intersection of Guy Lombardo Avenue, he narrowly missed another vehicle that crossed the intersection, and seconds later, without slowing down, he ran the red light and crashed into Whethers’ vehicle with such force that he split the vehicle in two, instantly killing Whethers. The direct and circumstantial evidence proved that the defendant deliberately drove his vehicle into this intersection with an utter disregard for the value of human life, and thus was legally sufficient to support the determination that the defendant acted with depraved indifference … . People v Williams, 2017 NY Slip Op 04302, 2nd Dept 5-31-17

 

CRIMINAL LAW (EVIDENCE, DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE MURDER, DEFENDANT’S DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED AT HIGH SPEEDS AND IGNORING TRAFFIC LIGHTS, RESULTING IN AN INTERSECTION COLLISION WHICH KILLED THE OTHER DRIVER, SUPPORTED THE DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE MURDER CONVICTION)/EVIDENCE (CRIMINAL LAW, DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE MURDER, DEFENDANT’S DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED AT HIGH SPEEDS AND IGNORING TRAFFIC LIGHTS, RESULTING IN AN INTERSECTION COLLISION WHICH KILLED THE OTHER DRIVER, SUPPORTED THE DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE MURDER CONVICTION)/DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE MURDER  DEFENDANT’S DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED AT HIGH SPEEDS AND IGNORING TRAFFIC LIGHTS, RESULTING IN AN INTERSECTION COLLISION WHICH KILLED THE OTHER DRIVER, SUPPORTED THE DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE MURDER CONVICTION)

You might also like
FAILURE TO INSTRUCT JURY ON EFFECT OF STATUTORY AND REGULATORY VIOLATIONS REQUIRED REVERSAL AND A NEW TRIAL IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE.
Defendant Did Not Consent to Entry of Police Into His Home—the Police Accompanied a Parole Officer for the Express Purpose of Investigating a Burglary—Motion to Suppress Should Have Been Granted
CELL PHONE TRANSMISSION EQUIPMENT TAXABLE UNDER REAL PROPERTY TAX LAW.
Town Failed to Demonstrate It Did Not Create Dangerous Condition—Summary Judgment in Favor of Town Denied—Exception to Written Notice Requirement​
MIDDLE DRIVER WAS PUSHED INTO PLAINTIFF’S CAR BY THE DRIVER BEHIND, MIDDLE DRIVER’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS REAR-END COLLISION CASE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).
THERE WAS VIDEO EVIDENCE OF THE SLIP AND FALL, PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF THE UNLAWFUL DRAIN PIPE WHICH WAS THE SOURCE OF THE ICE ON THE SIDEWALK, AND EXPERT EVIDENCE; DEFENDANTS’ MERE HOPE THAT DISCOVERY WOULD REVEAL EVIDENCE TO DEFEAT PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT DID NOT SUPPORT THE DENIAL OF THE MOTION AS PREMATURE (SECOND DEPT).
PLAINTIFF PROPERLY OPTED TO SUE EMPLOYER FOR WORKPLACE INJURY, EMPLOYER DID NOT CARRY WORKERS’ COMPENSATION INSURANCE.
DESPITE MOTHER’S VIOLATION OF SIX CONDITIONS OF A SUSPENDED JUDGMENT, TERMINATING HER PARENTAL RIGHTS WAS NOT IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF HER SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD (SECOND DEPT). ​

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

Copyright © 2023 New York Appellate Digest, LLC
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

DEFENDANT COULD HAVE PLED GUILTY TO AN OFFENSE THAT DID NOT REQUIRE DEPORTATION,... REQUIREMENT THAT COVERAGE CANNOT BE DENIED UNLESS THE GROUND FOR THE DENIAL...