People v. Hood

799 N.E.2d 974, 343 Ill. App. 3d 1245, 279 Ill. Dec. 171, 2003 Ill. App. LEXIS 1341
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedNovember 3, 2003
Docket4-03-0178
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 799 N.E.2d 974 (People v. Hood) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Hood, 799 N.E.2d 974, 343 Ill. App. 3d 1245, 279 Ill. Dec. 171, 2003 Ill. App. LEXIS 1341 (Ill. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinions

JUSTICE TURNER

delivered the opinion of the court:

In December 2000, the State charged defendant, Frederick E. Hood, with reckless homicide, aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, illegal transportation of alcohol, and failure to yield to a pedestrian in the crosswalk, all in connection with a motor vehicle accident that resulted in a pedestrian’s death. In May 2002, a jury found defendant guilty on all four counts. In June 2002, defendant filed a posttrial motion, which the trial court denied. In January 2003, the trial court sentenced defendant to three years in prison on the reckless homicide count.

On appeal, defendant argues (1) the trial court erred in allowing certain expert and rebuttal testimony, (2) he was denied a fair trial because of the prosecutor’s alleged improper statements during closing arguments, and (3) the State failed to present evidence to sustain defendant’s convictions for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and illegal transportation of alcohol. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for a new trial.

I. BACKGROUND

On December 1, 2000, the State charged defendant by information with the offense of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol (625 ILCS 5/11 — 501(d)(1)(C) (West 2000)), alleging that on November 28, 2000, he drove a 1986 Dodge Ram while under the influence of alcohol and was involved in a motor vehicle accident resulting in great bodily harm, permanent disability, or disfigurement to another and the proximate cause of those injuries.

On December 27, 2000, the State charged defendant by information with the offense of reckless homicide (720 ILCS 5/9 — 3(a) (West 2000)), alleging he, while under the influence of alcohol to a degree that rendered him incapable of safely driving and while acting in a reckless manner, performed acts likely to cause death or great bodily harm to an individual, in that he operated his vehicle, and after disobeying a stop sign, he struck a pedestrian in the crosswalk, causing the death of Marie L. Schwab. The State also charged defendant with the traffic offenses of illegal transportation of alcohol (625 ILCS 5/11 — 502(a) (West 2002)) and failure to yield to a pedestrian in the crosswalk (625 ILCS 5/11 — 1002(a) (West 2002)). Defendant pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial.

In May 2002, defendant’s jury trial commenced. David Smith testified he was driving with his girlfriend to pick up his son from school on November 28, 2000. He testified the intersection of Main and Poplar in Mount Olive is a four-way stop. As he was stopped at the stop sign, he noticed a brown, full-size van approach ing the intersection “at a pretty good rate of speed.” After the van’s driver “made the corner,” Smith saw a woman “about halfway through the crosswalk.” She held her left hand up as to motion to the van’s driver to stop, but the van struck the woman as she was “in the crosswalk.” Smith observed the woman “go through the air and land on the pavement,” and he proceeded to a nearby police station to summon help. On his way, he noticed the van’s driver, identified as defendant, step out of the van “and kind of stumble and lean against the door.”

Tricia Marietta, Smith’s girlfriend at the time of the incident, testified the weather was overcast on November 28, 2000. She stated Smith had stopped at the intersection when she saw a vehicle that was not “slowing down” and hit the woman who was walking.

Ryan Gorman, a deputy with the Macoupin County sheriffs department, testified he responded to the scene of the accident on November 28, 2000. Gorman observed defendant leaning up against the side of his van holding a child. Upon conversing with defendant, Gorman noticed his eyes were “bloodshot and glossy,” and his breath had a “strong odor of alcoholic beverage.” Further, Gorman found defendant’s “speech was mumbled together.” Gorman stated defendant told him he was coming from a tavern in Mount Olive when he hit the victim. After defendant was arrested, Gorman conducted an inventory search of his van and found “a cooler that contained beer cans in it, some full, some empty.” Gorman stated the beer was cold, and the cooler contained several open and full cans of beer. Upon leaving an officer’s squad car to enter the hospital for a blood and urine draw, defendant “was staggering and uneasy as he walked.” Based on his experience, Gorman believed defendant was intoxicated. From the time of the accident to defendant’s urine test, Gorman stated he appeared “to be sobering up some.”

Dr. Travis Hindman, a forensic pathologist, testified he performed an autopsy on Marie Schwab on December 19, 2000. Defense counsel stipulated to his credentials, and the trial court recognized him as an expert. Based on his expert opinion, Dr. Hindman found the cause of death to be brain trauma due to the injuries sustained in a pedestrian-vehicular collision. Dr. Hindman stated he has testified as a witness in the area of how the body metabolizes alcohol after it has been ingested. Defense counsel objected to Dr. Hindman testifying to any examination of blood samples as he was only disclosed as performing the autopsy. The trial court sustained the objection.

John Tandy, a patrolman with the Mount Olive police department at the time of the accident, testified that upon asking defendant what happened, he told the officer he stopped at the stop sign, turned left, heard a “thump or a thud,” and stopped. Tandy noticed a strong odor of beer from defendant’s breath, and his eyes were “glassy and bloodshot.” Defendant leaned up against the door of the van “the whole time.” Tandy asked defendant if he would be willing to undergo several field-sobriety tests, including the one-legged stand, the nystagmus test, and the turn-and-walk test, but he refused. Defendant told Tandy he had two beers at a local tavern. Tandy also testified to the cooler of beer found in defendant’s van. He recalled seven unopened cans and five empty cans, with one open can partially full of a substance that smelled like beer. Tandy transported defendant to the hospital and described him as “uneasy on his feet,” “stumbling,” and “staggering a little bit.” Tandy stated they waited an hour to an hour and a half before defendant’s blood and urine were collected. During that time, defendant stood leaning up against the wall, but he “sobered up quite a bit.”

The parties stipulated that defendant’s blood test indicated a blood-alcohol content of 0.077. The trial court denied defendant’s motion for directed verdict.

The defense called Bob Bonacorsi as its first witness. He testified he was driving west through Mount Olive on the date of the incident. He stated the sun was “so bad” that he had to roll down his window to look out “because [he] couldn’t see anything.” Bonacorsi testified this occurred in close proximity to the accident scene.

Danielle Shelton testified she saw defendant on the day of the accident between 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. as she was bartending at JC’s Tavern. Defendant came in the tavern with “his little boy,” stayed for 45 minutes, and had one beer.

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People v. Hood
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People v. Hood
799 N.E.2d 974 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
799 N.E.2d 974, 343 Ill. App. 3d 1245, 279 Ill. Dec. 171, 2003 Ill. App. LEXIS 1341, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-hood-illappct-2003.