State v. Blyenburg.

520 P.3d 264, 152 Haw. 66
Hawaii Supreme Court·Decided November 23, 2022·No. SCWC-20-0000714·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

*** FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER ***

Electronically Filed Supreme Court SCWC-XX-XXXXXXX 23-NOV-2022 08:20 AM Dkt. 27 OPA

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI

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STATE OF HAWAIʻI, Respondent/Plaintiff-Appellee,

vs.

GEORGE VAN BLYENBURG, Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant.

SCWC-XX-XXXXXXX

CERTIORARI TO THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS (CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX; CASE NO. 1CPC-XX-XXXXXXX)

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

RECKTENWALD, C.J., NAKAYAMA, AND EDDINS, JJ., AND WILSON, J., DISSENTING, WITH WHOM McKENNA, J., JOINS

OPINION OF THE COURT BY EDDINS, J.

I.

While driving on ʻAiea Heights Road, George Van Blyenburg

hit a man who was weed whacking next to the street. Van

Blyenburg kept driving, but several motorists stopped and tried *** FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER ***

to help the man. Shortly after Van Blyenburg hit him, the man

died.

Van Blyenburg did not return to the scene of the collision.

Instead, he drove to his friend’s house nearby and parked in his

friend’s garage. He covered the damaged front end of his Honda

CRV with blankets and boxes. Then, he went with his friend, in

his friend’s car, to Turtle Bay.

The State indicted Van Blyenburg for two crimes: (1)

leaving the scene of an accident involving death or serious

bodily injury, HRS § 291C-12 (2007 & Supp. 2015) (Count 1); and

(2) negligent homicide in the second degree, HRS § 707-703(1)(b)

(2014) (Count 2).

At trial, Van Blyenburg testified to “blacking out.” He

remembers driving and then “just nothing” before being

“jerk[ed]” awake by a “kind of metal bang.” Van Blyenburg said

that he looked in his rearview mirror but did not see the man.

He thought he’d hit a metal sign. And he drove off because he

didn’t want to get stuck with paying to fix it.

The jury found Van Blyenburg guilty on both Count 1 and

Count 2.

After the verdict, but before sentencing, Van Blyenburg

moved to dismiss both counts.

Van Blyenburg argued Count 1 was defective because it was

missing an essential element of the offense it charged.

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HRS § 291C-12(a) requires drivers of vehicles involved in

collisions resulting in serious bodily injury or death to

“immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the collision or

as close thereto as possible.” The statute also provides that

stops “shall be made without obstructing traffic more than is

necessary.” 1 This “shall be made without obstructing traffic

1 HRS § 291C-12(a) reads:

The driver of any vehicle involved in a collision resulting in serious bodily injury to or death of any person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the collision or as close thereto as possible but shall then forthwith return to and in every event shall remain at the scene of the collision until the driver has fulfilled the requirements of section 291C-14. Every stop shall be made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary.

HRS § 291C-14 (2007 & Supp. 2015) reads:

(a) The driver of any vehicle involved in a collision resulting in injury to or death of any person or damage to any vehicle or other property that is driven or attended by any person shall give the driver’s name, address, and the registration number of the vehicle the driver is driving, and shall upon request and if available exhibit the driver’s license or permit to drive to any person injured in the collision or to the driver or occupant of or person attending any vehicle or other property damaged in the collision and shall give the information and upon request exhibit the license or permit to any police officer at the scene of the collision or who is investigating the collision and shall render to any person injured in the collision reasonable assistance, including the carrying, or the making of arrangements for the carrying, of the person to a physician, surgeon, or hospital for medical or surgical treatment if it is apparent that treatment is necessary, or if the carrying is requested by the injured person; provided that if the vehicle involved in the collision is a bicycle, the driver of the bicycle need not exhibit a license or permit to drive.

(b) In the event that none of the persons specified is in condition to receive the information to which they otherwise would be entitled under subsection (a), and no police officer is present, the driver of any vehicle involved in the collision after fulfilling all other requirements of section 291C-12, 291C-12.5, or 291C-12.6,

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more than is necessary” language (the Traffic Proviso) was

missing from the indictment. Relying on State v. Baker, 146

Hawai‘i 299, 463 P.3d 956 (2020), Van Blyenburg argued this

omission violated his due process rights because the proviso

that stops “shall be made without obstructing traffic more than

is necessary” is an attendant circumstance element of HRS

§ 291C-12(a).

Regarding Count 2, Van Blyenburg argued it was defective

because it did not define “simple negligence.”

A person commits negligent homicide in the second degree if

they cause the death of “[a] vulnerable user by the operation of

a vehicle in a manner that constitutes simple negligence as

defined in section 707-704(2).” HRS § 707-703(1)(b) (emphasis

added). The indictment said as much. But it didn’t spell out

the definition of “simple negligence.” Van Blyenburg

characterized “simple negligence” as an element of HRS § 707-

703. 2 And he argued the indictment should have defined that

and subsection (a), insofar as possible on the driver’s part to be performed, shall forthwith report the collision to the nearest police officer and submit thereto the information specified in subsection (a).

2 HRS § 707-703(1) reads:

(1) A person commits the offense of negligent homicide in the second degree if that person causes the death of:

(a) Another person by the operation of a vehicle in a negligent manner; or

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element in simple terms since its meaning is “not readily

comprehensible to persons of common understanding.”

The circuit court was not persuaded by Van Blyenburg’s

arguments. It denied Van Blyenburg’s motion to dismiss as to

both Counts 1 and 2.

Van Blyenburg appealed.

The Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) affirmed the

circuit court in a summary disposition order.

In evaluating whether Van Blyenburg was adequately

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State v. Blyenburg., 520 P.3d 264, 152 Haw. 66 (haw 2022).

520 P.3d 264 (State v. Blyenburg.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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