People v. Roerman

• Decision Date: 15 February 1961
• Docket Number: Cr. 7082
• Citation: 10 Cal.Rptr. 870,189 Cal.App.2d 150
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of California, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Anita Roye ROERMAN, Defendant and Appellant.

Page 870

10 Cal.Rptr. 870

189 Cal.App.2d 150

PEOPLE of the State of California, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Anita Roye ROERMAN, Defendant and Appellant.

Cr. 7082.

District Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 1, California.

Feb. 15, 1961.

Robert W. Driscoll, San Marino, for appellant.

Stanley Mosk, Atty. Gen., and Norman H. Sokolow, Deputy Atty. Gen., for respondent.

LILLIE, Justice.

Defendant was charged by information with manslaughter in violation of Section 192, subdivision 3(a), of the Penal Code (driving a vehicle in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony, with gross negligence and while in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, and with gross negligence). In a trial by jury she was convicted of the offense charged, with gross negligence. A motion for a new trial was denied. Probation was granted. She has appealed from the judgment (order granting probation) and the order denying a new trial.

Abbie Gerrells, aged 73, died at the Memorial Hospital in Glendale on August 14, 1959. The cause of death was multiple pelvic fractures and lacerations of the liver due to crushing injuries of the hips and torso. About two hours prior to death she sustained the fatal injuries upon being struck by a car driven by defendant in a business district of that city. Viewed in the light most favorable to the People, the record discloses the following facts:

A clergyman, Reverend Paul Royer, was driving his car slowly and southerly on Brand Boulevard in Glendale around noon of August 14; he was looking for a place to park--there is diagonal parking on Brand Boulevard in that area. He observed an automobile backing out until its full length was outside the parking area; during this operation he heard its tires 'break and squeal'; he next observed the car start forward again, and he again heard the sound of tires spinning. According to the witness, the car 'was brought (back) into the parking area and went right on through,' going over the curb and coming to rest against a wall dividing two stores. After the car came to a stop, he heard a woman cry from that direction, 'Help me; please help me.' The back end of the car was continuously in the view of the witness as it went over the curb, and at no time did he see its stop light go on. After the car came to rest, the witness saw a woman get out of the driver's side. He did not notice any other person in the automobile.

Miss Constance Daigle testified that she was driving her car in a southerly direction on Brand in a lane adjacent to the parking area, 'and all of a sudden I saw a car just * * * It looked like it came out of nowhere, up over the curb * * * and pinned this woman against the side of the building.' She noticed two men push the car back from the building. An elderly woman who was 'over the right front fender' fell to the ground.

Robert Kelly was walking on the west side of Brand. He heard a sound behind him which was similar to brakes squeaking. Looking in the direction of the sound, he observed a car about 30 feet away moving through the parking area toward the curb 'at quite a speed.' The car went over the curb, knocked down a parking meter, crossed the sidewalk and struck an elderly woman and a girl, pinning them against the wall. Mr. Kelly saw a woman get out of the driver's side of the car and walk away.

Louis Accornero was in the doorway of a store on Brand Boulevard when he heard two sounds of impact, first a light one and then a heavy one. Proceeding to the scene, he observed a woman and a girl pinned by a car against a wall. Mr. Accornero got into the car and released the hand brake which, he found, was in a pulled-out position. The witness noticed the driver of the automobile as she was opening the door and getting out.

Another witness, Robert Leffingwell, was in the doorway of a stationery store adjacent to the scene of the accident. He heard a loud crash and proceeded immediately to the scene. On approaching, he saw two persons pinned against a wall and calling for someone to move the car; the witness assisted in pushing the car back. Mr Leffingwell identified the defendant as the driver of the car, stating that she was leaving the scene as he approached; the next time he saw her, she was in the company of a police officer leaving the stationery store, at which time he noticed that she had a heavy cast on her right leg.

Mrs. Lillian Doolittle, a saleslady in the stationery store, heard the crash and the cries of the injured persons. She came to the front of the store and observed the defendant get out of the car; the latter then went directly from the car into the store--Mrs. Doolittle noticed that defendant had a cast on her right leg. After arrival in the store, the witness applied cold towels to defendant's neck; the defendant inquired for, and was shown, the location of the telephone; defendant made a telephone call and Mrs. Doolittle wrote down a number given her by the defendant. At no time, in answer to a question by the district attorney, did defendant say anything to the witness about getting an ambulance for the injured persons outside.

Mrs. Romona Gisolo, a fellow employee of Mrs. Doolittle, was in front of the store; she testified that defendant's car 'looked as though it were coming into the window.' She telephoned for an ambulance; while she was on the telephone, she observed the defendant walk past with Mrs. Doolittle and she described defendant's appearance as 'very nervous'; also, there was blood on her lip and chin and possibly some on her forehead.

A Glendale police officer, Elmer Bolch, was stationed at a corner nearby when the accident occurred. He heard the squealing of tires on the pavement and saw the car in the process of striking a building. He ran to the scene and ascertained the extent of the injuries sustained by the victims and the name of the elderly lady (later deceased). The officer then ran into the stationery store to use the telephone; he saw the defendant at a desk in the rear holding a telephone receiver in her hand. In response to his inquiry, the defendant said that she was involved in the accident and that she was trying to call somebody; asked by the officer if she had called an ambulance, the defendant did not answer. An ambulance having been summoned, the officer left defendant in the company of Officer William Boggs to take defendant's statement. Subsequently measurements were taken by Officer Bolch of the width of the sidewalk, the height of the curb and the distance from a certain 'island' (dividing the north and south bound traffic lanes on Brand) to the curbing on the west side of the thoroughfare.

Officer Boggs testified that he met Officer Bolch at the scene of the accident and then proceeded to the stationery store where he saw the defendant sitting at a desk--she appeared to be telephoning. In response to his inquiry, she stated that she was the driver of the vehicle involved; she also produced her operator's license after she had completed her telephone call. Asked by the officer about the accident, defendant stated that she had started to back out and that somebody had struck her car and knocked her back on the curb. The officer next saw defendant getting into the right front seat of the ambulance which took the victims to the hospital; subsequently he saw her outside the hospital while she was still seated in the ambulance. The officers took a statement which the defendant read and signed: in substance, she had parked at a certain location on Brand Boulevard at about 11:15 a. m. and had returned about 12:10 p. m.; that she backed out, heard a loud noise, and then her car lunged forward and jumped the curb, striking two pedestrians; that her right foot and ankle were in a cast put on by a Dr. Balkin about July 27, 1959; that she had been driving (with the cast unremoved) since August 1st and had been sitting further to the right of the car in order to use her left foot for the gas and brakes.

Officer Rober Simon, summoned to the scene, checked the brake pedal and steering wheel of defendant's car; both were working. He also ascertained that the tires were in good condition.

A doctor on duty at the emergency hospital, Dr. David McAnich, testified to the injuries sustained by the two pedestrians. He recalled seeing the defendant being helped from the ambulance; her general condition appeared to be good, although she had a small laceration on her left chin; she made no complaints of dizziness or any symptoms due to injury, and seemed rather calm. The defendant indicated that she preferred to be treated by her own physician.

There was testimony from a qualified witness that the injuries sustained by Mrs. Gerrells caused her death--defendant does not dispute that fact.

Defendant took the stand. She testified that she broke her right foot about July 21, 1959; that the foot was placed in a walking cast; that she resumed driving about August 1st, after practicing a good deal in her driveway. Her automobile, a 1956 Plymouth, had automatic transmission with pushbutton drive; she operated the brake and gas pedals with her left foot--she claimed to have done so without difficulty while wearing the cast. Defendant was aware that the area of the accident was a very busy one from the standpoint of traffic. As to the accident itself, she was completing the backing out operation from the diagonal parking space and was about to proceed into the southerly traffic lane when there was a loud noise to her rear; she caught a glimpse of a car behind her. As a result she 'instinctively started to go forward' again into the parking space; her car struck the curb as she slammed on the brakes, and her foot bounced off the brake pedal. Upon striking the curb, her face hit the steering wheel with a severe blow and her car 'flew' across the sidewalk. She was 'stunned' and 'appalled'; somebody then helped her from the car.

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