Bennett v. State

196 N.W.2d 704, 54 Wis. 2d 727, 1972 Wisc. LEXIS 1128
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedMay 2, 1972
DocketState 57
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 196 N.W.2d 704 (Bennett v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bennett v. State, 196 N.W.2d 704, 54 Wis. 2d 727, 1972 Wisc. LEXIS 1128 (Wis. 1972).

Opinion

Beilfuss, J.

The main thrust of the defendant’s argument is that the evidence is not sufficient to sustain the finding of guilty. This contention is based, in part, upon claimed errors in the admission of evidence of speed, intoxication, and admission of volunteered opinion testimony as to intoxication by a police officer.

Sec. 940.09, Stats., provides in part:

“Homicide by intoxicated user of vehicle or firearm. Whoever by the negligent operation ... of a vehicle, . . . and while under the influence of an intoxicant causes the death of another may be fined not more than $2,500 or imprisoned not more than 5 years or both. No person shall be convicted under this section except upon *730 proof of causal negligence in addition to such operation or handling while under the influence of an intoxicant.”

To warrant a conviction under this section the evidence must be established by the requisite degree of proof: (1) That the defendant was the operator of a vehicle involved; (2) that he was negligent in such operation; (3) that he was under the influence of an intoxicant at the time of the accident; (4) that the accident caused the death of another person; and (5) that his negligence was a cause of the accident and resulting death.

While there is some disputed evidence in the record, this court, upon review of the sufficiency of the evidence, does not resolve such factual disputes. We examine the evidence to determine whether there is credible evidence in the record which, if believed by the trier of the facts, is sufficient to convince a reasonable jury or judge that the defendant is guilty of the crime charged (and all its essential elements) beyond a reasonable doubt. We believe this record contains the quantity and quality of evidence necessary to sustain the conviction.

The record reveals the following facts in support of the jury finding of guilty:

At approximately 7 p. m., on May 17, 1970, Frank Corrao, his wife Margaret, and their four-year-old daughter Kelly, were driving north on Highway 145 near Good Hope Road in the city and county of Milwaukee. Corrao was driving a green Buick at about 55 to 60 miles per hour.

Highway 145 was a divided highway with three lanes going north and three lanes going south. Corrao testified that he was driving north in the center lane , without deviation from that lane.

When his car reached the intersection of Good Hope Road and Highway 145, Corrao felt a thud in the rear end of the car and then saw the “abutments coming flying” at him. Corrao did not actually see the defendant’s car strike his.

*731 Salvatore Balistreri testified that he was on an adjacent service road and in the process of entering Highway 145 when he saw a green Buick driving north on Highway 145 pass him, going about 55 to 60 miles per hour. After Balistreri entered Highway 145, a Dodge, driven by defendant Bennett, passed him at a high rate of speed. The Dodge cut in front of him into the right lane and then, as the road turned to the right, it started to cut back into the center lane. Balistreri estimated that the Dodge was going over 100 miles per hour when it passed him. He also testified that the Dodge started to slow down after it passed him.

A few moments after the Dodge passed him Balistreri saw a cloud of dust go up over the Good Hope bridge. At this time Balistreri was going up the slope of a rise and did not see the collision between the Corrao and Bennett vehicles.

As Balistreri drove over the rise he observed the Dodge still moving north on the highway but it had turned around and was going backwards. Balistreri then drove up parallel with the Dodge, which had stopped, and he started to go to the car. He observed three people in the front seat who were fighting. One of the persons was the defendant David Leonard Bennett, who was in the driver’s seat. Balistreri also observed several beer cans in the Dodge.

Because no one appeared injured in the Dodge, Balis-treri then proceeded to the Buick. He opened the car door and Corrao fell out. Balistreri then noticed Margaret Corrao lying between the front seats of the Buick. She appeared to him to be decapitated. She died four days later from a skull fracture sustained in the accident. Balistreri took the little girl out of the car, walked with her until he came parallel with the Dodge and faced south so that she would not be able to see her car. Balistreri testified that:

*732 “. . . [defendant] came up to me and started yelling, the little girl was screaming, he had to talk loud, that ‘That son-of-a-bitch wasn’t going fast enough.’ That kind of caught me by surprise, and I said, ‘You passed me like a maniac.’ And then he . . . threatened me that if I were to tell this to the police department when they would arrive.”

Balistreri further testified that the defendant approached him twice more, uttering obscenities and vulgarities and threatening him if he told the police. Balistreri also smelled beer on defendant’s breath.

Douglas Rindt was then called as a witness by the state. He testified that about 7 p. m., on May 17, 1970, he was traveling south on Highway 145 when he saw a cloud of dust in the northbound lane. He saw Corrao’s car come to a rest against the guardrail on the side of the road. He also saw the defendant’s car spinning around, stopping in the center lane. The defendant’s car door opened and several beer cans were thrown out of the car into the ditch. Rindt stopped his car, got out and ran to Corrao’s car. As he approached he saw Corrao lying on the ground. The defendant approached Corrao and began questioning Corrao, asking him why he was going so slow and other questions of the same nature.

The state then called Thomas Elbert as a witness. He described the defendant’s speech as “very slow and slurred.”

Henry R. Sapinski is a deputy sheriff of the county of Milwaukee and is also a certified breathalyzer operator for the state of Wisconsin. Sapinski testified that after the defendant had been taken to the sheriff’s department in the safety building, he administered a breathalyzer test to the defendant. The result of the test was that defendant’s blood contained .17 percent alcohol by weight.

John Kubiak, deputy sheriff for the county of Milwaukee, was then called as a witness. Shortly after the accident he spoke to the defendant. He testified that in his *733 opinion the defendant was intoxicated at the time of the accident. The defendant’s speech was slurred, incoherent and very slow. Kubiak further testified:

“At the scene of the accident, I first — when I first approached him, I asked him if he was the driver of the Dodge, and he told me that he was. I observed him staggering and I smelled a strong odor of beer on his breath, his eyes were rather glassy, his speech was slurred.”

In response to a question as to whether he had looked into the defendant’s car, Kubiak replied:

“I observed beer cans on the rear seat, the rear floor. There were beer cans on the front seat and the front floor area.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
196 N.W.2d 704, 54 Wis. 2d 727, 1972 Wisc. LEXIS 1128, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bennett-v-state-wis-1972.