People v. Donohue

• Decision Date: 01 July 1996
• Citation: 645 N.Y.S.2d 60,229 A.D.2d 396
• Parties: The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Eugene DONOHUE, Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 60

645 N.Y.S.2d 60

229 A.D.2d 396

The PEOPLE, etc., Respondent, v. Eugene DONOHUE, Appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division,

Second Department.

July 1, 1996.

Stephen P. Scaring, Garden City, for appellant.

James M. Catterson, Jr., District Attorney, Riverhead (Michael J. Miller, of counsel; Daniel A. Dutton on the brief), for respondent.

Before RITTER, J.P., and THOMPSON, PIZZUTO and HART, JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Suffolk County (Pitts, J.), rendered November 30, 1994, convicting him of vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, criminally negligent homicide, and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

ORDERED that the judgment is modified, as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, by reversing the convictions of manslaughter in the second degree and criminally negligent homicide, and vacating the sentences imposed thereon; as so modified, the judgment is affirmed, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Suffolk County, for a new trial on those counts and for further proceedings pursuant to CPL 460.50(5).

The defendant was involved in a two-car automobile accident on February 8, 1992, at approximately 1:00 A.M. at a so-called "T" intersection in Suffolk County. The defendant, immediately prior to impact, was proceeding on the horizontal bar of the "T", while the deceased driver had been proceeding on the vertical stem of the "T" and was in the process of making a left turn onto the horizontal bar at the time of the fatal impact. The deceased driver had not passed completely through the horizontal lane in which the defendant was proceeding at the time of impact.

The intersection had one traffic control device, i.e., a stop sign, governing traffic as the deceased proceeded along the vertical stem of the "T" intersection. There were no traffic control devices in place in the direction that the defendant was proceeding immediately prior to impact. The defendant attempted to stop when he saw the deceased's vehicle in the road in front of him, but was unable to do so. The defendant's vehicle came into contact with the door of the deceased driver's car.

A test taken of the defendant's blood, pursuant to a court order about three and one-half hours following the accident revealed a blood alcohol level of approximately .117. The presumption of intoxication pursuant to Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192 is a blood alcohol level of .10. Thus, the conviction of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol must be affirmed under the per se mandate of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192(2) and (3) (see, People v. David W., 83 A.D.2d 690, 442 N.Y.S.2d 278; cf., People v. Edwards, 158 Misc.2d 615, 601 N.Y.S.2d 539).

At trial, the identity of the deceased was stipulated to by both trial counsel. In spite of this stipulation, the trial court permitted a six-year-old wedding photograph of the decedent to be admitted into evidence and available to the jury throughout the deliberation process. On appeal the defendant contends the court erred in allowing the photograph to be introduced into evidence. We agree and find that in view of the less than overwhelming evidence of the...