People v. Hood

821 N.E.2d 258, 213 Ill. 2d 244, 290 Ill. Dec. 207, 2004 Ill. LEXIS 2025
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 2, 2004
Docket97486
StatusPublished
Cited by51 cases

This text of 821 N.E.2d 258 (People v. Hood) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Hood, 821 N.E.2d 258, 213 Ill. 2d 244, 290 Ill. Dec. 207, 2004 Ill. LEXIS 2025 (Ill. 2004).

Opinion

JUSTICE FITZGERALD

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial in Macoupin County, defendant Frederick Hood was convicted of illegal transportation of alcohol (625 ILCS 5/11 — 502(a) (West 2000)), failure to yield to a pedestrian in the crosswalk (625 ILCS 5/11— 1002(a) (West 2000)), and reckless homicide (720 ILCS 5/9 — 3(a) (West 2000)), and sentenced to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Defendant appealed, arguing in relevant part that the trial court erred by allowing the State’s expert to testify in rebuttal. A majority of the appellate court agreed with defendant that the rebuttal testimony was improper because the State had violated the expert disclosure provisions of Supreme Court Rule 412 (188 Ill. 2d R. 412). The appellate court affirmed defendant’s convictions for illegal transportation of alcohol and failure to yield to a pedestrian in the crosswalk, but reversed defendant’s conviction for reckless homicide and remanded for a new trial. 343 Ill. App. 3d 1245.

For the reasons discussed below, we reverse the judgment of the appellate court reversing defendant’s reckless homicide conviction and remand to the appellate court for consideration of the balance of defendant’s arguments on appeal.

BACKGROUND

On the afternoon of November 28, 2000, defendant was driving his van westbound on Main Street in Mt. Olive, Illinois. As defendant made a left turn from Main Street onto southbound Poplar Street, his van struck 95-year-old Marie Schwab, causing serious injury. Schwab died approximately three weeks later.

David Smith, a Mt. Olive resident who witnessed the accident, testified for the State. Smith stated that on November 28, 2000, at about 3 p.m., he and his girlfriend, Tricia Marietta, picked up his son from school. Smith drove eastbound on Main Street and stopped at the stop sign at Poplar Street. The intersection of Main and Poplar is a four-way stop. The speed limit is 20 miles per hour. Smith observed a van coming from the east at a “pretty good rate of speed.” Although it was Smith’s turn to proceed through the intersection, he waited because he believed the van was not going to stop. To his right, on Poplar Street, Smith could see a woman, later identified as Marie Schwab, about halfway through the crosswalk. The van failed to stop at the stop sign and rounded the corner “at a pretty good clip *** rockfing] to the right.” Schwab raised her left hand, but the van did not stop. The van struck Schwab, lifting her off her feet and throwing her about five feet. Smith proceeded to the police station, which was a block away, to report the accident. As he drove through the intersection, he saw defendant exit the van, “kind of stumble and lean against the door.”

Tricia Marietta similarly testified that the van defendant was driving did not stop or slow down as it approached Poplar Street. As the van turned onto Poplar, Marietta saw that defendant was looking north. Marietta saw Schwab raise her left hand, but the van did not stop until it struck her. Smith and Marietta, as well as an employee of the ambulance service that responded to the accident, testified that the weather was cloudy and overcast.

John Tandy, formerly a patrolman with the Mt. Olive police department, arrived first on the scene. He testified that Marie Schwab was lying motionless in the center of the road, south of the crosswalk. Defendant was leaning against one of the van doors, holding his 18-month-old son, Lucas. Tandy admitted meeting defendant on a couple of occasions but denied having a “confrontation” with him. Defendant told Tandy he was driving west on Main Street, came to a stop at Poplar Street, turned left and heard a thump or a thud, and then stopped. Tandy noticed a strong odor of beer on defendant’s breath and that his eyes were glassy and bloodshot. Defendant did not make eye contact with Tandy. Defendant produced his license, but said he did not have his insurance card. Defendant offered to go home to get it. When Tandy asked defendant for the telephone number of a relative who could pick up Lucas, defendant had trouble relaying the number correctly. Defendant’s speech was “a little slurred, a little garbled, mumbly.”

Tandy further testified that he noticed an open cooler between the two front seats of the van. In the cooler were seven unopened, 12-ounce cans of Busch beer, five empty cans, one partially filled can, which was still cold, and some ice. Tandy smelled the open can to verify that it contained beer. Defendant told Tandy that he had two beers earlier in the day at Tillie’s, a local tavern. According to Tandy, defendant refused to take any field sobriety tests and volunteered that he would not take a breath test. Tandy placed defendant under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol and hitting a pedestrian.

After checking on Schwab’s condition and taking some measurements of the accident scene, Tandy transported defendant, who was handcuffed, to a hospital for the purpose of collecting blood and urine samples. As they walked through the hospital parking lot, a distance of 50 to 100 feet, Tandy had to take defendant by the arm a couple of times to keep him from falling. Defendant was “uneasy on his feet,” “stumbling a little bit, staggering a little bit, weaving from side to side.” A blood sample was collected at 5:40 p.m., approximately 2V2 hours after the accident. During their wait at the hospital defendant stood the entire time. After the samples were collected, Tandy drove defendant to an ATM so that he could get cash in order to post bond, and then drove defendant back to Mt. Olive. Tandy testified that defendant had “sobered up quite a bit.” The parties stipulated that defendant’s blood sample indicated an alcohol concentration of 0.077.

Randy Gorman, a deputy with the Macoupin County sheriffs department, also responded to the scene. Gorman testified that he found Marie Schwab’s sunglasses wedged in between the bug shield and the hood of defendant’s van. Gorman observed no skid marks on the pavement. Upon speaking with defendant, Gorman noticed a strong odor of alcohol on defendant’s breath and that his eyes were bloodshot and “glossy.” Defendant’s speech was mumbled and his walk was “wobbly.” Gorman believed defendant was intoxicated. When Gorman asked defendant what happened, defendant said, “I guess the sun was in my eyes. I didn’t see her.” Gorman recalled that it was sunny and partly cloudy that day. Gorman further testified that a cooler, containing several cans of Busch beer, was in the van behind the driver’s seat. An open can of beer, partially full and still cold, stood upright in the cooler. Gorman escorted Tandy and defendant to the hospital. As they walked approximately 75 feet through the hospital parking lot, Gorman saw defendant staggering and swaying. Gorman left the hospital immediately after defendant’s blood and urine samples were taken. At that time, defendant “appeared to be sobering up some.”

The State also called Dr. Travis Hindman, a forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy of Marie Schwab. Dr. Hindman testified that the cause of her death was brain trauma due to injuries sustained in the collision on November 28, 2000.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
821 N.E.2d 258, 213 Ill. 2d 244, 290 Ill. Dec. 207, 2004 Ill. LEXIS 2025, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-hood-ill-2004.