People v. Wilson

Decision Date18 April 1991
Docket NumberNo. 70181,70181
Citation157 Ill.Dec. 473,572 N.E.2d 937,143 Ill.2d 236
Parties, 157 Ill.Dec. 473 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Errol WILSON, Appellee.
CourtIllinois Supreme Court

Neil F. Hartigan, Atty. Gen., Springfield, and Cecil A. Partee and Jack O'Malley, State's Attys., Chicago (Terence M. Madsen, Asst. Atty. Gen., Chicago, and Renee Goldfarb and James Sanford, Asst. State's Attys., and Judy L. DeAngelis, Sp. Asst. State's Atty., of counsel), for the People.

Charles K. Piet, Chicago, for appellee.

Justice BILANDIC delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Errol Wilson, was charged by indictment with one count of reckless homicide (Ill.Rev.Stat.1987, ch. 38, par. 9-3(a)) in connection with the automobile-related death of Aida Burke, and one count of driving with a blood-alcohol concentration greater than .10 (Ill.Rev.Stat.1987, ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-501.1(f)) (hereinafter DUI). The trial court granted defendant's motion to suppress a chemical analysis of a blood sample taken from defendant shortly after the occurrence alleged in the indictment. Defendant waived his right to a jury trial. At the close of the State's case, the trial court granted defendant's motion for a directed finding of not guilty on the DUI charge but denied his motion for a directed finding of not guilty on the reckless homicide charge.

The only defense witness was a treating physician, who also qualified as a medical expert. There was no rebuttal evidence by the State. At the close of all of the evidence, the defendant did not make a motion for a directed finding of not guilty on the reckless homicide charge. The trial judge found defendant guilty of reckless homicide and sentenced him to three years' imprisonment. The appellate court reversed, with one justice dissenting, based upon its finding that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction. 196 Ill.App.3d 694, 143 Ill.Dec. 419, 554 N.E.2d 354. We granted the State's petition for leave to appeal (107 Ill.2d R. 315).

The State presented the following evidence. A head-on collision of two automobiles occurred on January 10, 1986, at about 2:55 p.m., in the vicinity of the 6500 block of North Cicero Avenue in Lincolnwood, Illinois. At that location, Cicero Avenue is a north-south, six-lane highway with two traffic lanes and one parking lane in each direction. It was a clear, sunny day. The pavement was dry.

Two eyewitnesses to the accident testified for the State. Margo Cestar stated that she was driving southbound on Cicero behind an automobile later identified as the car operated by John Burke, in which his wife, Aida, was a passenger. The witness observed defendant's northbound vehicle cross the center line and one southbound lane before colliding with the Burkes' car in the outside southbound lane.

Gerald Burger testified that he had been driving northbound on Cicero when he noticed defendant's car slightly behind him and to his right. Mr. Burger then observed defendant's vehicle cut in front of his car, cross the center line, and drive into the southbound lanes into the Burkes' automobile. Mr. Burger stated that, as defendant's car crossed in front of him, he saw defendant slumped over the wheel of his car, apparently unconscious.

Lincolnwood police officers Weidner and Lamantia testified that on January 10, 1986, at approximately 2:55 p.m., they were called to the scene of an automobile accident at the 6500 block of Cicero Avenue. Upon arriving at the scene, the officers observed two vehicles with heavy front-end damage in the outer southbound lane. They saw an elderly couple, John and Aida Burke, in one of the vehicles, and defendant was found lying on the ground outside the other vehicle. The officers pulled Aida Burke from the passenger side of her automobile. Mrs. Burke was not breathing. The officers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her until the paramedics arrived and took over her care.

Officer Lamantia provided aid to defendant. Defendant's forehead was bleeding so the officer applied a gauze bandage to the injury. Officer Lamantia testified that, as he leaned over to apply the bandage, he smelled a strong odor of alcohol on defendant's breath. Defendant was accompanied to the hospital by Officer Weidner. At the hospital, defendant was treated in the emergency room and Officer Weidner overheard defendant tell his treating physician that he had consumed a "couple" of beers "earlier."

Officer Lamantia remained at the scene of the accident and arranged for the vehicles to be towed away. Officer Lamantia observed that there were skid marks behind the Burkes' car but not behind defendant's car. Approximately 45 minutes after leaving the scene of the accident, Officer Lamantia conducted an inventory search of defendant's automobile at the Lincolnwood police auto pound and discovered a partially filled vodka bottle.

The State also presented the testimony of Dr. Howard Croft, who testified that he pronounced Aida Burke dead at 3:52 p.m., on January 10, 1986, at the Skokie Valley Hospital. The cause of death was blunt trauma. John Burke was injured but survived the accident.

Various stipulations were entered into between the parties which stated that if Dr. JoAnn Richmond were called to testify, she would state that she is an assistant medical examiner for Cook County and that on January 11, 1986, she conducted a post-mortem examination on Aida Burke which established that Mrs. Burke received over 20 internal and external injuries, including bruises and fractures which contributed to the cause of death by blunt trauma. A further stipulation entered into concerning the chain of custody of the vodka bottle found in defendant's car stated that the bottle contained a small amount of clear liquid ethanol.

Alex Kolben, an employee of A & E Mobile station, testified that on January 10, 1986, he towed both of the automobiles that were involved in the accident to the impound lot and that, after towing defendant's car, he locked the doors and left the keys at the Lincolnwood police station.

Ronald Burke, the son of Aida Burke, testified that the last time he saw his mother alive was at approximately 1 p.m. on January 10, 1986, and that the next time he saw her was at her wake.

At the close of the State's case in chief, defendant moved for a directed finding of not guilty on both charges. The trial court granted the motion as to the DUI charge based upon its finding that there was no evidence that defendant's blood-alcohol concentration exceeded .10. The trial court denied defendant's motion for a directed finding of not guilty on the reckless homicide charge.

The only witness presented by defendant was Dr. Steven Yeh. In February 1986, defendant was a patient at Evanston Hospital under the care of Dr. Lindquist, who specializes in internal medicine. At the suggestion of defendant's internist, Dr. Yeh was asked to examine defendant concerning a possible sleep disorder. Dr. Yeh was called by the defense to testify as an attending and treating physician of defendant, and as a medical expert who specializes in otolaryngology: the study of the ears and throat.

Dr. Yeh testified that he first met defendant at Evanston Hospital in February 1986, after being asked to perform tests on defendant because defendant had a problem with excessive drowsiness. Dr. Yeh conducted a physical examination and a sleep study of defendant during which he observed that defendant had a long, soft palate. Based upon these examinations, Dr. Yeh definitively concluded that defendant was suffering from severe sleep apnea, a condition that causes an individual to stop breathing while asleep.

Dr. Yeh testified that the sleep study conducted on defendant showed that defendant would stop breathing for intervals of up to 1 1/2 minutes during the night and that the resulting loss of oxygen would cause defendant to wake up. As a result, defendant would never get much rest during the night. Therefore, defendant would always feel like he was not getting enough rest and would become drowsy and fall asleep during the day. Dr. Yeh also stated that defendant told him that "he had had this problem for a number of years and it had gotten worse over the past several years when [defendant] gained a lot of weight."

On cross-examination, Dr. Yeh testified that he was aware that defendant was hospitalized for drug and alcohol abuse and that a person who drinks alcohol will become more drowsy. The doctor further stated that he believed defendant had suffered from sleep apnea for several years and that defendant would have been falling asleep at inappropriate times throughout those years. Dr. Yeh testified that defendant had admitted to the doctor that he had, in fact, fallen asleep at inappropriate times in the past. Dr. Yeh went on to testify that the consumption of alcohol would aggravate defendant's degree of sleep apnea.

During the court's own examination of Dr. Yeh, the doctor stated that if an individual suffering from sleep apnea were not stimulated enough, and if he were relaxed and already tired, "he might start to dose off."

Following Dr. Yeh's testimony, the defense and the State rested. Defendant did not make a motion for a directed finding of not guilty on the remaining count of reckless homicide. The trial judge found defendant guilty of reckless homicide and sentenced him to three years' imprisonment. The appellate court reversed the conviction, finding that the evidence was insufficient to support the trial court's finding that defendant was guilty of reckless homicide.

I

The appellate court majority held that the evidence was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant acted recklessly. The appellate court based its holding on two separate grounds. First, the court found that defendant's motion for a directed finding of not guilty on the reckless homicide charge, made at the close of the State's case,...

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