Commonwealth v. Grays

• Decision Date: 25 July 2017
• Docket Number: No. 1249 MDA 2016.,1249 MDA 2016.
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. Roegester GRAYS, Appellant
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

167 A.3d 793

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania

v.Roegester GRAYS, Appellant

No. 1249 MDA 2016.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted May 3, 2017

Filed July 25, 2017

Ronald C. Travis, Williamsport, for appellant.

Daniel J. Barrett, District Attorney, Towanda, for Commonwealth, appellee.

BEFORE: SHOGAN, MOULTON, JJ., and STEVENS, P.J.E.^*

OPINION BY STEVENS, P.J.E.:

Appellant, Roegester Grays, appeals from the judgment of sentence entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Bradford County following his conviction by a jury on two counts of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol ("homicide by vehicle–DUI"), one count of aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence ("aggravated assault by vehicle–DUI"), two counts of homicide by vehicle, one count of aggravated assault by vehicle, two counts of driving under the influence-general impairment and high rate ("DUI"), and one count of possession of a controlled substance.¹ After a careful review, we affirm.

The relevant facts and procedural history are as follows: On March 1, 2013, at approximately 5:00 p.m., Appellant, who was driving a Chevrolet Avalanche ("Avalanche") westbound on Route 328, collided head-on with a Chevrolet Suburban ("Suburban"), which was traveling eastbound on Route 328 and being driven by Ryan English. As a result of the crash, Mr. English and his wife, Karen English, were killed instantly, and their thirteen-year-old son, C.M.,² and four-year-old son, L.E., were injured. Their ten-year-old son, G.E., was not injured.

Appellant was arrested and charged with numerous crimes. On November 21, 2013, he filed a lengthy counseled, pre-trial motion seeking, inter alia , to suppress his blood alcohol content ("BAC") from blood that was drawn on March 1, 2013, at 9:20 p.m., after he was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police Trooper John J. Youngblood,³ to suppress the physical evidence seized by the police from his vehicle, and to suppress pre-arrest statements Appellant made to Trooper Youngblood at the Arnot Ogden Medical Center ("Arnot Ogden") Emergency Room in New York.

Following a hearing held on January 7, 2014,⁴ by order and opinion filed on April 1, 2014, the trial court granted Appellant's motion to suppress Appellant's post-arrest BAC from the blood drawn at 9:30 p.m. upon request of Trooper Youngblood; however, the trial court denied Appellant's motion to suppress the evidence obtained from the search of his vehicle and the evidence gained by the police at Arnot Ogden prior to Appellant's arrest. Trial Court Order, filed 4/1/14.

On July 25, 2014, Appellant filed an additional pre-trial omnibus motion in which he sought, inter alia , to suppress and/or preclude the Commonwealth from introducing Appellant's medical records from Arnot Ogden, particularly Appellant's pre-arrest BAC from blood drawn at 5:30 p.m. on March 1, 2013, by order of Appellant's treating physician, Joseph Haluska, M.D., at the Arnot Ogden Emergency Room. Specifically, Appellant contended the medical records were obtained via an improperly issued and served subpoena, in violation of Appellant's doctor-patient privilege, and inadmissible as there was no "paper trail" establishing blood was actually drawn by order of Dr. Haluska. The trial court denied Appellant's motion.

On January 16, 2015, Appellant filed a motion in limine seeking to preclude the Commonwealth from admitting into evidence Appellant's pre-arrest BAC from the blood drawn and tested by order of Dr. Haluska. In this motion, Appellant asserted his pre-arrest BAC should be precluded as the Arnot Ogden laboratory was not a fully licensed and approved Pennsylvania facility for testing purposes. The matter proceeded to a hearing on May 26, 2015, and by order entered on July 13, 2015, the trial court denied Appellant's January 16, 2015, motion in limine .

On August 10, 2015, Appellant filed another motion in limine in which he again sought to preclude his pre-arrest BAC from the blood drawn and tested by order of Dr. Haluska. In this motion, Appellant contended that the introduction of his pre-arrest BAC would violate his due process rights as the Commonwealth failed to preserve a sample of Appellant's blood, thus precluding Appellant from independently testing his blood. The trial court denied Appellant's motion in limine with regard to his request to preclude the introduction of his pre-arrest BAC.

On November 16, 2015, the matter proceeded to a jury trial at which the parties stipulated that the death of Mr. and Mrs. English was caused by trauma incurred during the motor vehicle collision at issue. N.T., 11/16/15, at 32. With regard to the collision, Rita Dennison testified that she resides in a rural area near Route 328, and on March 1, 2013, she was at home with her brother, who was visiting and making plans to assist her with mowing her lawn. Id. at 34. She indicated that, in an effort to show her brother her property lines, she and her brother were looking out of her kitchen window, which faced Route 328, when she saw an Avalanche "zooming" down the road, passing all of the cars that were going with the normal flow of traffic. Id. at 35. Mrs. Dennison continued to watch the Avalanche and, as it crested up the hill, she noted that the Avalanche was still passing vehicles, even though the road was lined for no passing in that area of the road. Id. She indicated the Avalanche was traveling west and passing cars on a double lined road. Id. at 36. Mrs. Dennison testified that, just after the Avalanche left her sight, she "heard an awful crash, it sounded like an explosion." Id. She did not investigate the source of the noise, but when her husband returned home shortly thereafter, she informed him of the noise, and he left on his four-wheeler to investigate. Id. at 37.

Mrs. Dennison's brother, Hugh B. Cunningham, confirmed he was visiting Mrs. Dennison on the day of the accident, and as they were looking out of her kitchen window, he noticed a large vehicle "hauling butt" and passing other vehicles in a no-passing zone. Id. at 58. He indicated that, as Mrs. Dennison moved to look out of the other kitchen window, she said "[he's] so fast he's going up the hill[,]" and then he heard "an explosion." Id.

Mrs. Dennison's husband, Joe Dennison, confirmed that he drove his four-wheeler to the top of the hill near his house on Route 328 and several firefighters had already arrived on the scene. Id. at 63. He observed an Avalanche on the left side of the road and another vehicle, which was upside down, covered with a tarp. Id.

Anthony Amentler testified that, on the day in question, he was driving a pick-up truck loaded with hay on Route 328 East and, as he turned a corner, a Suburban was traveling in the same direction ahead of him. Id. at 70. He testified that the two vehicles were traveling at a "normal speed." Id. He indicated that, as they started up a hill, the Suburban was about five car lengths in front of him when he suddenly noticed a large vehicle, later identified as an Avalanche, coming towards them "on the wrong side of the road." Id. at 71. Mr. Amentler clarified that all four tires of the Avalanche were over the double yellow line "on the wrong side" of the road. Id. at 80. He testified the Suburban stayed in its lane of travel and was hit "pretty much head-on" by the opposing Avalanche. Id. at 72. The Suburban "flipped up in the air and ended up on the other side of the road[,]" and the Avalanche "spun back into the guardrails." Id. Mr. Amentler indicated he was able to avoid the collision, traveled to the top of the hill, pulled his truck to the side of the hill, stopped an oncoming westbound vehicle, and asked the driver to call 911. Id. at 73.

Mr. Amentler testified he then ran down the hill to the crash site and heard the sound of children crying from inside the Suburban, which was upside down. Id. at 74. He looked inside the back passenger area and saw a child hanging upside down in a car seat. Id. With the assistance of other motorists, he removed the children from the Suburban, but he was unable to assist the driver (Mr. English) or the front seat passenger (Mrs. English) as he "couldn't get into that compartment" of the vehicle. Id.

Mr. Amentler then ran to check on the driver of the Avalanche, later identified as Appellant, and found him still seated in the driver's seat. Id. at 75. Appellant had blood coming out of the bridge of his nose and was complaining of pain to his nose. Id. Mr. Amentler was unable to open the Avalanche's front door, so he opened the back door and a beer can fell out of the vehicle. Id. At this point, since Appellant did not seem to be hurt too badly, Mr. Amentler decided it was best to let the authorities take over with regard to the Avalanche and Appellant. Id.

Mr. Amentler testified he went back to assisting the children, one of whom was obviously severely injured. Id. at 76. Ambulances and firefighters responded to the scene, and Mr. Amentler remained to speak to the Pennsylvania State Police, who arrived within half an hour of the crash. Id. He noted that, from the time the accident occurred until the police arrived, neither vehicle involved in the accident moved. Id. at 77.

C.M. confirmed that he was in the Suburban on the day in question with his siblings, as well as his puppy, PJ, who perished in the accident, and the family's adult black Labrador Retriever, Lila. N.T., 11/17/15, at 11. C.M. testified that Mr. English was driving, Mrs. English was in the front passenger seat, he was on the left side of the back passenger seat, L.E. was in a car seat on the right side of the back passenger seat, and G.E., as well as Lila, were in the third row. Id. at 8, 12. C.M. indicated that he remembered seeing a truck coming towards the family's Suburban and it was "driving on [their] side of the lane." Id. After the collision, the Suburban was "upside down" and all three boys, who were wearing seat belts or secured in a car seat, were dangling upside down....