State v. Rachels
| Decision Date | 25 September 1950 |
| Docket Number | 16411. |
| Parties | STATE v. RACHELS. |
| Court | South Carolina Supreme Court |
Tinsley & McGowan, W. H. Nicholson, Greenwood, Blackwell Sullivan & Wilson, Laurens, for appellant.
Solicitor Hugh Beasley, Greenwood, for respondent.
The appellant was convicted under an indictment charging him with reckless homicide, involving the death of Miss Eleanor Simmons, a student at Lander College at Greenwood, while traveling as a passenger on the Carolina Scenic Stages to her home at Cross Hill.
The statute which appellant was charged with violating reads as follows: 'When the death of any person ensues within one year as a proximate result of injury received by the driving of any vehicle in reckless disregard of the safety of others the person so operating such vehicle shall be guilty of reckless homicide.' 1942 Code, Sec. 1616, Sub-section 29(a).
The only question presented by the appeal is whether the trial judge committed error in his refusal to grant appellant's motion for a directed verdict of not guilty, and his denial of the motion made for a new trial. It is contended that there was no direct or positive evidence to support the charge of reckless homicide; and it is further argued that the circumstantial evidence offered by the State failed to meet the required test applicable to such evidence in order to convict.
The death of Miss Simmons occurred on January 21, 1949, on a bridge which spans Cane Creek, in Laurens County, when a gasoline tanker-truck coming from the opposite direction and driven by appellant Rachels, collided with the bus on which she was a passenger. Miss Simmons was sitting on the left side of the bus immediately behind the driver, Carl Hardin, and it was this point which received the blow from the tanker.
The accident occurred shortly after dark. It was misting rain, and was somewhat foggy; the roadway was described as wet and sloppy the visibility low. The bus approached the Cane Creek bridge on a slight curve going toward Cross Hill. This bridge was 132 feet long and 18 feet wide, and its floor, like the highway, was paved with a tar and gravel composition. The public highway was 2 feet wider than the bridge.
Hardin, the bus driver, testified that as he neared the bridge he saw the lights of the tanker-trailer approaching from the opposite direction, a considerable distance away, and from his observation he concluded that he could cross the bridge before the tanker reached it,--that is, if the truck was running at a reasonable rate of speed. The bus was moving at a rate of 30 miles an hour, and Hardin realized after he entered upon the bridge that the tanker would meet him before he could clear it. He then drove his bus as far to the right as possible, and the evidence shows that the body of the bus overhanging the wheels scraped every one of the nineteen concrete posts on the right hand side of the bridge.
On each side of the bridge, as shown by the testimony and various photographs introduced in evidence, there is a concrete railing with 19 concrete posts measuring 10 by 12 inches, with connecting reinforced concrete railings. The posts rest upon and are set 7 inches back of a concrete curbing running on each side. This curbing extends 10 or 12 inches above the floor level of the bridge. The clearance between the curbing left a bridge width of 18 feet. Hardin said that just before the tanker-trailer entered the bridge, it rapidly blinked its lights three times, which symbol is known among truck and bus drivers as indicating danger and that the vehicle is out of control. Realizing the imminence of peril, Hardin said that he attempted to increase his speed from 30 miles an hour in order to get off the bridge before the truck entered it, but the collision occurred before he cleared the bridge.
The tanker-truck driven by appellant was estimated to be between 40 and 45 feet in length. It was loaded to capacity with 4,000 gallons of gasoline, and the combined weight of cab, trailer, attached tanker and contents was approximately 36,000 pounds. The road upon which it traveled toward Cane Creek bridge was on a down grade, and when appellant reached the peak of the hill and started the descent toward the bridge one-fourth of a mile away, he was driving between 40 and 45 miles an hour. The road was straight, and he saw the bus with headlights burning approaching him, about 100 yards on the other side of the bridge.
Appellant had had five years experience in handling and driving this heavy type of transport equipment, and three years experience in going back and forth on this particular road. He was thoroughly familiar with the road and the bridge, and with traveling conditions. At the rear end of the tanker there were two large wheels on each end of the axle; and it was equipped with ten wheels in all. The forward part of the tractor containing the cab, entered the bridge and safely passed the bus, but the left rear dual wheels of the truck struck the bus at the point on its left side just behind the driver's seat, crushing it in and knocking the left front wheel beneath the bus. The force of the blow was so terrific that the bus was thrown against the right hand concrete railing, completely breaking out three of the concrete posts and loosening two or three other posts. The bus, however, rolled on, clearing the bridge, and went 58 feet before it came to rest. The only concrete post left standing at the apparent location of the collision was the first one on the Cross Hill side of the bridge in the direction the bus was moving.
Following the impact, which it may be inferred occurred at a point about 16 feet from the Cross Hill end of the bridge, the heavy dual rear wheels of the tanker-truck broke loose and finally became competely detached at some point about 40 feet beyond the place where the collision occurred. Proceeding on their own momentum, they rolled about 100 feet, almost to the end of the bridge, and bounced clear over the railing.
Appellant Rachels knew that something had occurred at the rear end of the tanker, 35 or 40 feet behind him, but he did not know what the trouble was. When the rear wheels were ripped off, however, his air brakes were disconnected, and the vehicle with its rear end dragging proceeded on momentum to the end of the bridge, and on a slight upgrade 100 yards beyond, where it burst into flames, turned over on its side, and came to rest. Appellant and a companion who was riding with him managed to extricate themslves and escaped injury.
Highway patrolmen were summoned and reached the scene of the accident within about 30 minutes after it occurred. They took various measurements and made a minute examination of the situation. They testified, as did the sheriff of Laurens County, that on the first concrete post on the right hand side of the tanker as it entered the bridge, and on the wire guard rail which connected with this post, there were fresh scrapings from a rubber tire, embedded in the wire mesh and adhering to the post.
It was testified that the cab portion of this transport vehicle...
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