Kornegay v. State, 87-21

Citation520 So.2d 681,13 Fla. L. Weekly 542
Decision Date01 March 1988
Docket NumberNo. 87-21,87-21
Parties13 Fla. L. Weekly 542 Lloyd Eugene KORNEGAY, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
CourtCourt of Appeal of Florida (US)

Michael E. Allen, Public Defender, and Sharon Bradley, Asst. Public Defender, Tallahassee, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Royall P. Terry, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.

WIGGINTON, Judge.

Before us is an appeal from a judgment and sentence for manslaughter and driving while license suspended, arising from a traffic fatality caused by appellant's running a stop sign. Three issues are raised for our consideration questioning the trial court's denial of appellant's motion for judgment of acquittal, its admitting into evidence testimony of the investigating officer regarding privileged statements made by appellant at the accident scene, and its allowing testimony regarding similar previous conduct. We affirm.

The evidence adduced at trial established that at approximately 5:40 a.m. on November 24, 1986, appellant was driving to work traveling south on County Road 167 approaching County Road 162. County Road 167 is marked by a stop sign as well as a stop bar. Appellant, who testified on his own behalf, stated that instead of stopping he slowed down, turned his lights down to the parking lights, and then looked for the lights of oncoming traffic. Seeing none, he accelerated into the intersection.

The deceased was driving a diesel tractor pulling a 40-foot trailer fully loaded with logs and traveling east on County Road 162. The vehicles collided with the front of the tractor hitting the back half of appellant's automobile. Both came to rest in a ditch south of the intersection, the tractor-trailer having flipped over onto its side. The driver was propelled out of the cab by a log which crashed through the cab's rear window, resulting in his death. Appellant was only slightly injured.

The one witness to the accident was Marvin Butler whose house is located near the intersection. He was in his yard that early morning, as was his usual routine, and testified that after hearing the crash he ran toward the intersection and encountered appellant running from the intersection saying, "I run the stop sign." Butler testified that, before the collision, he noticed both the car and the tractor had their lights on. He also testified over objection that he had seen the same red car run the stop sign on numerous prior occasions, at least four times a week. He positively identified the red car as being the one appellant was driving on the morning of the collision. Butler testified that the car never slowed down when going through the stop sign.

The accident was investigated by Sergeant Hutto and the homicide was investigated by Florida Highway Patrolman Robert See. Appellant was immediately taken to the hospital without having spoken either to Hutto or See; however, at approximately 11:15 a.m. he returned to the site of the accident where he encountered Trooper See and made a spontaneous statement concerning his having been at fault for the accident. Trooper See requested that appellant say nothing further, advised him that he was investigating the homicide, and read to him from the standard Miranda form. Appellant thereafter agreed to give a written statement which revealed that he often ran the stop sign when he was running late for work, although he first dimmed his lights to ascertain if there was any oncoming traffic. He admitted in the statement and later at trial that his approximate speed through the intersection was forty-five to fifty miles per hour. The regular accident report had earlier been completed by Sergeant Hutto who then...

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4 cases
  • Hernandez v. State
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 6 Junio 2007
    ...338 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996), review denied, 697 So.2d 510 (Fla.1997); Werhan v. State, 673 So.2d 550 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996); Kornegay v. State, 520 So.2d 681 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); see also Michel v. State, 752 So.2d 6, 10-11 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000), review denied, 766 So.2d 222 (Fla.2000), and cited ca......
  • State v. Riley
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 13 Abril 1993
    ...between statements made during accident investigations and statements made during a criminal investigation. Kornegay v. State, 520 So.2d 681 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). But see Alley v. State, 553 So.2d 354 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989), rev. denied, 563 So.2d 634 (Fla.1990), and West v. State, 553 So.2d 25......
  • Alley v. State, 88-0993
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 6 Diciembre 1989
    ...Appellant made the questioned statements during the accident phase of the investigation. Unlike the defendant in Kornegay v. State, 520 So.2d 681, 683 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988), appellant offered no testimony during the trial which rendered the admission of the privileged statements harmless erro......
  • Estrada v. State, 99-464.
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 20 Octubre 1999
    ...Before NESBITT, GERSTEN and SHEVIN, JJ. PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See State v. DiGuilio, 491 So.2d 1129 (Fla.1986); Kornegay v. State, 520 So.2d 681 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). ...

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