Jones v. State

198 So. 2d 799, 43 Ala. App. 650, 1967 Ala. App. LEXIS 386
CourtAlabama Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 18, 1967
StatusPublished

This text of 198 So. 2d 799 (Jones v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Alabama Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. State, 198 So. 2d 799, 43 Ala. App. 650, 1967 Ala. App. LEXIS 386 (Ala. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinion

JOHNSON, Judge.

Appellant, after a plea of not guilty, was tried by a jury in the Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama, for the offense of manslaughter in the second degree which was couched in language as follows, “that within twelve months before the commencement of the prosecution he did unlawfully, but without malice, or the intention to kill, kill John Robert Vann, by negligently running an automobile into, upon or against an automobile in which the said John Robert Vann was riding, against the peace and dignity of the State of Alabama.” For this offense appellant was sentenced to six months hard labor for the County of Mobile. This appeal is made from a judgment imposing this sentence and from the denial of a motion for a new trial.

On December 19, 1964, between 11:00 and 12:00 P.M. a collision between two automobiles occurred at the intersection of South Wasson Street and U.S. Highway No. 45, otherwise known as St. Stephens Road, in the City of Prichard, Alabama. One automobile, a 1951 or 1952 Chevrolet, was operated by John Robert Vann and the other, a 1957 Pontiac, was operated by appellant, Rufus Jones, Jr. On December 22, 1964, as a result of injury received in this collision, John Robert Vann died.

The State’s first witness was J. M. Vann, father of the deceased, who testified that the automobile involved in the wreck was owned by his son who had lived in Citronelle, Alabama, all of his life.

Rev. Ralph Branham, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Kushla, Alabama, located on Highway No. 45, testified that he was driving on this highway at approximately midnight on the night in question and was approximately a block and a half south of the intersection of Highway No. 45 and South Wasson Street when he heard a crash and that he drove to the scene of the accident and observed that there had been a collision of a Pontiac, and a Chevrolet; that the Chevrolet was: on fire, which was later extinguished by firemen; that in the Pontiac he saw appellant slumped over a bent steering wheel; that he saw what appeared to be a liquor bottle on the front floorboard of appellant’s car; that he did not notice a top on this bottle; and that “the smell of alcohol was quite strong in appellant’s car.” The witness further stated that he observed the firemen assisting appellant out of his automobile and that “he did revive” and “was able to get out and walk around under his own power.”

The witness testified that he examined both cars and “did not notice any unusual damage” to either side of the Chevrolet but did notice that the right front wheel was damaged. He said that the Pontiac was damaged in the front in that the “radiator had been bent in towards the car in almost a U’ shape” and “the steering wheel and the windshield were the places that I [he] noticed damaged.”

Richard M. Pruitt, Police Patrolman for the City of Prichard, testified that he arrived at the scene of the accident at approximately 11:40 P.M. and found Rev. Branham there. He referred to a diagram which he drew up the morning of the trial from a diagram which he had drawn [652]*652up on the night of the accident. The witness stated that the Pontiac was upright and against the tree with not enough room to get between it and the automobile; that the Chevrolet was damaged on the right front and had apparently “rolled”; that he could not determine whether there had been any damage to the left side of the Chevrolet; and that the damage to the Pontiac was to the front and left side.

Officer Pruitt testified that he found an uncapped bottle of whiskey on the driver’s side of the 1957 Pontiac and that the bottle exhibited in court was this same bottle which he retrieved from the Pontiac. He stated that he saw appellant standing by •the driver’s side of the Pontiac and that lie voluntarily stated that he was driving the car. The officer said that appellant appeared groggy and couldn’t stand straight but that his speech was not impaired. The witness also said that he did not smell any alcohol around the Chevrolet driven by deceased.

On cross-examination, the officer testified that he made out a police report following the accident but listed no violations of law and that he did not arrest appellant until after Vann died on December 22, 1964, three days later. On further cross-examination, the officer testified that the Chevrolet automobile was so damaged he ■couldn’t tell what kind of car it was; that he couldn’t determine the exact model because he was “not that good at automobiles” ; that the car appeared to have “rolled” and that it was not damaged all over.

Burton L. Simmons, a police officer •for the City of Prichard, testified that he .and Officer Pruitt went to the scene of •the collision shortly after it occurred and •that he observed skid marks which went almost to the rear of appellant’s car but did not go all the way up to it, stopping approximately fifteen feet away. He said that the damage to the Chevrolet was to the right front and top and that he did i not notice any damage to any trees and admitted that he did not look at them.

Dr. W. Frank Cope, a qualified practicing neurological surgeon, testified that he attended deceased and that in his opinion the cause of his death on December 22, 1964, was a brain injury resulting from a traumatic injury.

The State’s next witness was Norman Weldy, a member of the Prichard Fire Department, who testified that he happened to be in the vicinity of the collision on a routine fire call when he came upon the scene of the collision. He stated that he assisted in removing deceased from his automobile; that he was strapped in the automobile and that it had to be lifted to remove him; that he was pretty sure that neither door would open; and that he did not know which automobile was on which street prior to the collision.

Douglas C. Hammac testified that he operated a wrecker business and came upon the scene from a service call; that he tried unsuccessfully to remove appellant and another individual from the Pontiac but they were “pinned in”; that he then went to the Chevrolet to assist in removing deceased; ánd that it was necessary to lift the car because the deceased was “pinned in.” He stated that he examined the Chevrolet and it was damaged all over and that he could not determine the “center of damage” because the car was “torn up so bad I [he] couldn’t say.”

Prichard Police Detective Lieutenant T. J. Blake testified that he had had experience both practical and academic in investigating automobile accidents and that he examined the wreck scene “subsequent to the night of the wreck.” He stated that he measured certain distances at the site; that there is a stop sign nine feet from the intersection on Wasson Street; that he examined the Chevrolet at the wrecking yard and it appeared to him at that time that the right front fender and wheel had received an impact. He stated that he did not make notes on natural . objects at the scene.

[653]*653Appellant’s first witness was Floyd Spencer who testified that he was appellant’s second cousin and that they worked together at Port City Construction Company; that on the date in question they had both worked in Fort Walton, Florida; that he returned to the company office in Prichard at about 11:15 P.M. and that appellant arrived shortly thereafter. Spencer stated that he and appellant left the office in a 1957 Pontiac ; that appellant was driving and that he (the witness) had a bottle of whiskey from which he was drinking and that appellant •did not drink from that bottle of whiskey.

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Related

Riley v. State
111 So. 649 (Alabama Court of Appeals, 1927)
Cobb v. Malone
92 Ala. 630 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1890)
Evans v. State
87 So. 2d 435 (Alabama Court of Appeals, 1955)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
198 So. 2d 799, 43 Ala. App. 650, 1967 Ala. App. LEXIS 386, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-state-alactapp-1967.