People v. Hedspeth

MOORE, P. J. Defendant appeals from a judgment, after conviction by a jury of negligent homicide, as defined by section 500 of the Vehicle Code, and from an order denying his motion for a new trial. He predicates his appeal upon six [302]propositions, which for the purpose of this opinion, may be reduced to two: (1) That the evidence is insufficient to sustain the conviction; and (2) errors of the court in refusing certain proposed instructions while giving certain erroneous instructions.

I. It appears that on July 22, 1939, about 1:30 o’clock A. M., defendant, who was employed by the city of Los Angeles, was driving a city garbage (Chevrolet) truck, west on Washington Boulevard, east of its intersection with Alameda. At a point varying, according to the witnesses, from 200 to 334 feet east of Alameda, the defendant’s truck collided with the Ford car driven by the deceased, one John D. Flanagan, who was driving easterly on Washington. Following the collision, the bed of the Chevrolet was knocked on to the north side of the boulevard while its chassis continued on, veering to the south and over through the grounds of the service station at the southeast corner of said intersection with Alameda, the defendant driver being unable to stop his truck by reason of injuries to the left wheel. Just preceding the collision, said truck of defendant was traveling at a speed of from 35 to 50 miles an hour; the Ford car was'going at a speed of 15 miles per hour. Washington Boulevard, at the scene of the accident, was on a curve about 620 feet in length; it is slightly more than 40 feet in width with a soft shoulder on each side of the pavement. At the point of collision, the curve made it impossible to see more than 60 feet ahead. There was no light at the point of the impact nearer than 190 feet. The Ford car was driving on the south or right side of the boulevard while the truck had pulled over from the north to the south side of the boulevard in order to pass another motorist, just before colliding with said Ford car. The lights of the Ford ear were burning although the left lamp was not expelling a brilliant beam by reason of the fact that the glass in front of the lamp was broken and the reflector was covered with a sack. Upon being struck, the Ford car was pushed around with its rear wheels off the pavement on the south side of the-boulevard with the front of the car facing to the north. In the impact, said Flanagan received a compound fracture of the skull with lacerations of the brain, from which he died within a year. His blood was found to contain 14 per cent alcohol, which was sufficient to cause his intoxication.