Rider v. State, 1 Div. 605
| Decision Date | 01 October 1975 |
| Docket Number | 1 Div. 605 |
| Citation | 319 So.2d 756,56 Ala.App. 137 |
| Parties | Thomas RIDER v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Claude E. Bankester, Bay Minette, for appellant.
William J. Baxley, Atty. Gen., and J. Brent Thornley, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.
This case involves a 'hit and run' accident. Omitting the formal parts the indictment upon which appellant was convicted reads as follows:
'The Grand Jury of said County charge that before finding this indictment on, to-wit: March 3, 1974, Thomas Rider, the owner of a motor vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to Don McCormick, did fail to immediately stop such vehicle at the scene of such accident, did also fail to give his name and address and the registration license number of such vehicle and did fail to render to said person in said accident reasonable assistance, including the carrying of such injured person to a physician or surgeon for medical or surgical treatment, it then being apparent that such treatment was necessary, against the peace and dignity of the State of Alabama.'
Prior to arraignment on October 29, 1974, appellant was found to be indigent, and counsel was appointed to represent him at arraignment and trial. He pleaded not guilty. The jury returned a verdict finding appellant guilty as charged and the court sentenced him to three years imprisonment in the penitentiary. He gave notice of appeal and was furnished a free transcript. Trial counsel was appointed to represent him on appeal.
Appellant filed a Pro se assignments of error and one of the grounds alleged that he was not represented by competent counsel during any phase of the criminal proceedings against him. Trial counsel filed a motion for leave to withdraw from the case. This motion was granted and the court appointed another attorney to handle this appeal.
Appellant was specifically charged with violating Title 36, Section 128, Code of Alabama 1940, which, in pertinent part, reads as follows:
'The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person, or damage to a vehicle, shall immediately stop such vehicle at the scene of such accident, and shall also give his name and address, and the registration license number of his vehicle, and shall render to any person injured in such accident reasonable assistance, including the carrying of such injured person to a physician or surgeon for medical or surgical treatment if it is apparent that such treatment is necessary.'
The evidence for the state is uncontradicted that on the afternoon of March 3, 1974, a boy, Don McCormick, 18 years of age, was riding a motor bike on Old Highway 98 going south. He was riding on the paved portion of the highway as close to the shoulder of the road as possible. He described the accident in these words:
He further testified that the car came all the way across the highway into his lane and headed straight into him. He was knocked off his bicycle and suffered a compound fracture of the left leg. He said the accident happened about 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon and it was perfectly clear spring weather. He stated that the car did not stop and offer to render any aid to him. He did not have a chance to see the occupants in the car to be able to identify them but thought there were three persons in the car and remembered seeing a Negro in the back seat. He was carried by ambulance to the hospital.
Dennis Ray Brown was called as a witness for the state. He stated that appellant came to his home on March 3, 1974, and picked him up. That appellant was driving a Navy blue Plymouth automobile and that he struck a boy riding a bicycle in Daphne, Baldwin County, Alabama, and kept going. That he asked appellant if he was going to stop but he just kept on going. He said the accident happened about 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon. He further testified that he and appellant had been drinking and after appellant hit McCormick, they went to the Rebel Lounge. Appellant and a person who was picked up by him went in the lounge. Brown said he stayed in the car as there was a sign or the door of the Rebel Lounge reading 'White Only.' Brown was also charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
Mr. Joe Hall, Chief of Police of Daphne, testified that he investigated an accident involving an automobile and a bicycle; that the accident occurred near the intersection of Johnson Road and Main Street in Daphne. That he got to the scene at approximately 3:50 p.m. and he talked to McCormick and got a description of the automobile that struck him and he put out a dispatch on his radio. He later received a radio message from a State Trooper that this car was parked at the Rebel Lounge. He went to the Rebel Lounge and found the automobile and found a Negro by the name of Brown in the back seat. That Brown had passed out and he could not communicate with him. He walked in the lounge where several people were seated and asked if the owner of the car, which he described, was present. Appellant got up and said he was the owner of the car. The Chief arrested both appellant and Brown and put them in his patrol car. The officer stated that in his opinion both appellant and Brown were drunk.
The Chief of Police further testified that when he got to the scene of the accident, Don McCormick was lying on the ground on his back and a colored woman, who was either a nurse or an LPN, was administering first aid to him. He stated there was blood all over the ground where the boy and been bleeding profusely; that his left thigh was injured, and that it was apparent that he needed medical assistance.
Mr. Andrew Underhill testified that he caught a...
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