People v. Kroncke

• Decision Date: 31 March 1999
• Docket Number: No. A077974,A077974
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: , 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 2373, 1999 Daily Journal D.A.R. 3078 The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Mark A. KRONCKE, Defendant and Appellant.

Page 493

83 Cal.Rptr.2d 493

70 Cal.App.4th 1535, 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 2373,

1999 Daily Journal D.A.R. 3078

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Mark A. KRONCKE, Defendant and Appellant.

No. A077974.

Court of Appeal, First District, Division 3, California.

March 31, 1999.

Certified for Partial Publication. ^*

Lawrence A. Boxer Patton, Wolan & Boxer, Oakland, for Appellant.

Daniel E. Lungren, Attorney General; George Williamson, Chief Assistant Attorney General; Ronald A. Bass, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Ronald S. Matthias, Supervising Deputy Attorney General; Linda M. Murphy, Deputy Attorney General, for Respondent.

PARRILLI, J.

A jury convicted appellant Mark A. Kroncke of failing to stop and report an auto accident (Veh.Code, §§ 20001, 20003), ¹ a felony, and giving false information to a police officer (Veh.Code, § 31), a misdemeanor.

The principal issue is whether sections 20001 and 20003 require that a driver involved in an injury-producing accident identify himself as the driver, when that is not reasonably apparent. As we shall explain, the pertinent sections do impose such a duty. We further conclude that requiring the driver to inform investigating officers that he was the driver of a vehicle involved in the accident does not violate the driver's constitutional right against self-incrimination. We affirm the judgment.

I

FACTS

Overview

This case arises from the death of Martin Jacobsen, a 21-year-old Danish tourist. According to Kroncke, he met Jacobsen in the early morning hours in San Francisco and offered to drive him to Marin. Immediately after they drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, Jacobsen suddenly jumped from Kroncke's pickup truck and suffered injuries that were eventually fatal. Kroncke got off

                at the next freeway exit and returned to where Jacobsen lay on the side of the road.  Within a minute, a Golden Gate Bridge officer also arrived at the scene.  Kroncke gave his name and other identifying information to the officers at the scene.  He also told the officers he was driving on Highway 101 when he spotted Jacobsen on the side of the road and stopped to render aid.  In instructing the jury, the court stated that sections 20001 and 20003 impose a duty on a driver to "disclose to the investigating officers that he was the driver of a vehicle involved in the accident, if such involvement is not reasonably apparent."   Kroncke contends the pertinent Vehicle Code sections impose no such duty, and the trial court prejudicially erred when it gave the instruction
                

Prosecution Evidence

On September 28, 1995, Danish tourists Martin Jacobsen and his cousin Nikolas Sorensen arrived in San Francisco, where they stayed in a downtown youth hostel. A few days later, Jacobsen told his cousin he was going to the Haight-Ashbury district to sleep with the homeless in the park. At 12:30 a.m. on October 4, Jacobsen left for the Haight with his sleeping bag and a small amount of money. He left his identification and most of his money at the hostel. He told Sorensen he would meet him at the hostel in the afternoon.

At about 3:30 a.m., some three hours after Jacobsen left his hostel, a witness saw Jacobsen's body lying against the guard rail in the northbound lane of Highway 101, just before the Waldo tunnel in Marin. The witness stopped at a turnout before the tunnel and used a call box to summon help. While he was at the call box, the witness saw a pickup truck pull up to Jacobsen's body. A heavyset man--Kroncke--got out of the truck, walked to Jacobsen's body, and shook him. Emergency vehicles arrived at the scene approximately one minute later.

Golden Gate Bridge District Sergeant David Mills was the first officer to arrive at the scene. He saw Kroncke's pickup truck stopped in the slow lane and Jacobsen lying by the guardrail. Jacobsen was seriously injured and gasping for air. Mills called for an ambulance. Mills did not believe that either Kroncke or his truck was connected to Jacobsen or the accident. Kroncke did not volunteer any information about how Jacobsen came to be on the roadway, nor did he tell Mills he was involved in the incident.

A few minutes later, District Lieutenant Michael Locati arrived at the scene. In response to Locati's questions, Kroncke said he was going northbound when he happened to see Jacobsen lying by the side of the road. Kroncke also said he was a Golden Gate Transit bus driver. Kroncke gave Lieutenant Locati his name and address and Locati wrote down Kroncke's license plate number. Nothing at the scene or in what Kroncke said led Locati to believe Kroncke was connected with Jacobsen or the accident.

Marin County Deputy Sheriff Fred Marziano also stopped at the scene to render assistance. Marziano, who knew Kroncke casually from various professional and social contacts, asked Kroncke if he knew what had happened. Kroncke said he did not know what had happened. He said he was driving up the freeway when he saw a person by the side of the road. There was nothing about the position of Kroncke's pickup or Jacobsen's body that indicated the pickup had struck Jacobsen or that he had fallen from that vehicle.

Jacobsen was taken to Marin General Hospital where the treating doctor determined he had a terminal brain injury. He was placed on life support, but died three days later. At the time he entered the hospital Jacobsen had a .16 percent blood alcohol level. An autopsy revealed Jacobsen had suffered a "contrecoup" injury, from which the expert opined Jacobsen's head was in motion when he suffered a blunt force trauma.

The prosecution's accident reconstruction expert opined Jacobsen was sitting upright and facing to the rear when he stepped or jumped from a moving vehicle near the .6 mile marker on Highway 101. Jacobsen rolled on the asphalt for about 56 to 84 feet and came to rest 70 feet north of the .6 mile marker.

More than three weeks later, on October 31, 1995, Marin County Sheriff detective Jeff Carroll interviewed Kroncke in connection with Jacobsen's death. Kroncke told Carroll he had been in San Francisco early on the morning of October 4, and was driving back home to Marin when he came across a body on the right shoulder of the roadway. Kroncke stopped to render aid and noted Jacobsen's pupils were "blown," which indicated to Kroncke that Jacobsen had suffered a head injury. Carroll asked Kroncke if he had ever seen the injured person before. Kroncke responded he did not recognize the person and had never seen him before.

Three days later, Kroncke contacted Detective Carroll and said he wanted to give an additional statement. In a tape recorded interview, Kroncke admitted Jacobsen had jumped from his truck. Kroncke said he drove to Haight Street in the early morning hours of October 4. There, he saw a person setting trash can fires and helped detain him until the police arrived. Afterwards, he saw Jacobsen ask a police officer for directions to the water. A few minutes later, Kroncke saw Jacobsen near Cala Foods with a group of homeless people. Kroncke offered Jacobsen a ride to his hostel, and Jacobsen accepted.

After they drove around a bit, Jacobsen said his hostel was locked until morning and Kroncke asked Jacobsen if he wanted to go Marin for a drink. Jacobsen agreed. After they crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and passed Vista Point, Jacobsen started panicking, and said he wanted to go back to San Francisco. Kroncke said he would turn around and drive him back, but Jacobsen said he wanted to get out. Just north of Vista Point, Jacobsen suddenly opened the passenger door and stepped out of the pickup. Kroncke was traveling at 40 to 45 miles per hour at the time. Kroncke drove through the Waldo tunnel to the Spencer exit. He sat there in shock for "several minutes" before he decided to drive back to look for Jacobsen. When he returned he found Jacobsen lying on the side of the road.

Defense

Kroncke testified that on October 4, 1995, it was too hot to sleep and he went for a drive. His intent was to drive toward the Cliff House in San Francisco to get a view of the Vision fire, which was then burning in West Marin. He eventually ended up in the Haight-Ashbury District where he saw fire fighters extinguishing a trash can fire. Kroncke saw a second fire and then saw a man light a third fire. Kroncke detained the man until Officer Ramos arrested him. ²

While Kroncke was talking with the police, Jacobsen approached Officer Ramos and asked for directions to the water. Ramos suggested Jacobsen take a bus and pointed to a nearby bus stop. As he was leaving the area, Kroncke saw Jacobsen standing near several homeless people in front of Cala Foods. Concluding Jacobsen was "out of his element," Kroncke approached him and asked if he wanted a ride. Jacobsen accepted. Following a brief skirmish with a drug dealer, Jacobsen got into Kroncke's truck.

After Jacobsen got into the truck, Kroncke drove out to Land's End where they observed the Vision fire. They then drove through the Marina and North Beach looking for Jacobsen's hostel. Jacobsen could not remember where his hostel was, and Kroncke was unable to find it for him. Jacobsen eventually told Kroncke he had not checked out a key and would not be able to get into the hostel until 6 a.m. that morning in any event. Kroncke was not in any hurry because he had the next day off. Eventually they ended up at the Vista Point in San Francisco located at the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. There, Kroncke asked Jacobsen if he wanted to go across the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County. Jacobsen agreed.

As they were driving across the bridge at about 45 miles per hour, Kroncke pointed out various landmarks. Jacobsen was talkative at that point. However, after Kroncke crossed the bridge and arrived at a point Kroncke continued driving, passed two turnouts, and got off at the first exit (Spencer Avenue) where he stayed for a few minutes wondering what to do. Ultimately, he decided...